WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released the following statement today welcoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to northwest Ohio. Today, Sec. Solis will tour the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex and also visit Willard & Kelsey Solar Group, a solar panel maker in Perrysburg.

“I’m thrilled that Secretary Solis is making a stop in northwest Ohio to see first-hand the cutting-edge work carried out by the men and women of Chrysler and Willard & Kelsey,” Brown said. “Both auto manufacturing and solar energy have played a tremendous role in the revitalization of northwest Ohio, and these industries have helped put our state on the map once again as a leader in domestic manufacturing. From the Jeep Wrangler to solar panels, workers and businesses in northwest Ohio are making the products that Americans want to buy.”

Last month, as the Toledo Auto Show kicked off, Brown called on the Chrysler Group to fully utilize the Toledo Assembly Complex by adding a new production line to the facility as part of the company’s planned 2011 expansion. Brown last visited the Toledo Assembly Complex with Vice President Joe Biden in August 2010. At that visit, Brown and Biden touted the success thus far of the Administration’s actions to strengthen the American auto industry, including the role of the Administration’s investments in GM and Chrysler in helping these companies return to profitability, retain and hire workers, and keep plants open. 

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