MARYSVILLE — Honda hosted special activities Wednesday, Nov. 20, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the two key facilities housed in the Honda Heritage Center (HHC), located across the street from the Marysville Auto Plant.
The Honda Heritage Center opened in November 2014, and includes the Honda Technical Development Center (TDC), one of the leading resources for the advancement of manufacturing skills for current and future Honda associates, and the HHC Museum, which showcases the innovative history and growth Honda has achieved in North America during the past 65 years.
The $35 million, 160,000-square-foot Honda Heritage Center also features office space for numerous Honda business areas that support the company’s operations throughout North America.
The TDC and HHC museum recognized the shared 10th anniversary with an open house event and ceremony with Honda leaders, associates and special guests.
“The Honda Heritage Center Museum tracks our history of more than six decades in America, including over 45 years of U.S. manufacturing,” said Bob Nelson, executive vice president at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
“As we celebrate the museum’s 10th anniversary, we’re excited to again welcome visitors five days a week to learn about our exciting past, present and future.”
The museum restricted visitation hours during the pandemic, but will open to the public five days a week again beginning Nov. 21. The museum highlights products and significant milestones in the history of Honda in North America with more than 70 displays including historic products, future concepts and interactive exhibits.
The TDC was designed to deliver state-of-the-art training to strengthen the technical skills of Honda associates and to ensure equipment reliability in Honda manufacturing facilities.
The TDC combines classroom and experiential learning opportunities through more than 200 courses covering a variety of technical topics.
Recognizing the need to constantly evolve associate training, the TDC has created a flexible facility that allows the team to add courses to support new technologies such as electric vehicles (EV).
“Reflecting our strong focus on workforce development, the team at the Honda Technical Development Center continues to evolve our training programs to keep our associates abreast of the latest technologies as new equipment is introduced into our manufacturing facilities,” said TDC leader Aaron Suchland.
“As we prepare for the challenges of EV production, we are developing training to support our unique approach of flexible production of petrol, hybrid and all-electric vehicles for our customers.”
Since opening the first center in the HHC, the TDC has expanded its offerings to new facilities in Ohio, Alabama and Indiana that support Honda associates in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
While the TDC delivers classes to an average of 3,000 associates per year, it has also hosted numerous students and community groups to promote workforce activities, demonstrating some of the technologies used in manufacturing.