Retooling of Nissan plant a work in progress

The retooling of Nissan Motor Co.'s auto plant in Mississippi is a work in progress as the company moves closer to the 2010 launch of its first commercial vehicle made in the United States.

The company is working on a 49,000 square-foot paint plant expansion, which will be outfitted to perform a new painting method for the commercial vehicle, and major construction in the trim and chassis shop, where a new assembly line will be added.

The $118 million project is being performed during the company's summer shutdown.

Steve Parrett, a spokesman for Nissan North America, says there's still a lot of work to do in the paint shop and construction on trim and chassis began last month.

Parrett says construction on the body shop began in May.