CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario was established in 1986 as an ambitious joint venture between General Motors and Suzuki. It was designed to blend Japanese manufacturing and design with Canadian industrial capability. Production kicked off in 1989, releasing quirky, lightweight trail-runners and compacts such as the Geo Tracker, Metro, and Suzuki Sidekick, before evolving through generations of crossovers and eventually transitioning into an all-electric commercial van facility. Although the vehicles of the late 80s and early 90s have so much personality, the real character of CAMI lived on the plant floor.
When I started the archive, the goal was to preserve the brochures and advertisements. But we should really be talking about the people who spent their careers on the assembly line. Workers like Jarod Moorhouse and David Csepei not only shared artifacts with me that you can’t find anywhere else on the internet – CAMI internal 1999 plant newspapers and original assembly line work instructions, but they shared a glimpse into their lives at the plant as well.
Jarod started on July 2, 1991, and retired on New Year’s Day 2023, an over 31 year career. He described how his memories aren’t just about the cars, they’re about the crew. As Jarod put it: “The jobs at CAMI were not always the best, but the people were! I have great memories and lifelong friendships because of CAMI.”.
David Csepei, an assembly maintenance millwright who started with CAMI in 2019, talks about craftsmen like John Thumb (pictured in the center with the beard and coveralls). He described John as a very talented man with over 35 years in the plant and all the stories to share.
Chris Chattington left an enduring mark on the plant’s culture. Chris gave more than 30 years to CAMI with perfect attendance before passing away from ALS. When David inherited Chris’s toolbox, he opened his own physical archive of handwritten shift notes dating back to 1988. David described Chris as a top shelf old school guy, the kind who would return from holiday and comb through the missed shift note see what all happened while he was off.
The Ingersoll plant stays idle in late summer 2026, awaiting upcoming contract talks. Workers like David find themselves on SUB pay, waiting to see what the next shift brings.
Huge thank you to the dedication of the CAMI team over all the years for making these vehicles possible.
You can check out David’s work instructions here and Jarod’s CAMI 1996 Newspaper here.
