It's a scene that might seem more likely in Detroit than Arizona — long rows of minivans in various stages of construction, welding torches throwing off sparks, power drills whirring, the sounds of motor vehicle manufacturing echoing through a cavernous assembly room.
It may not be well known, but minivan manufacturing of a sort does happen in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Vantage Mobility International in Phoenix remakes minivans produced by Ford, Dodge and Honda into vehicles designed for the physically disabled and their families.
It's a bigger job than it might seem. Workers gut the interiors, lower the floors and install doors and ramps that open automatically with the touch of a remote.
The modifications include additional wiring, new exhaust systems, new load-leveling shock absorbers to handle the added weight and other changes. The company even has its own paint booth to repaint the vehicles so they come out of the factory looking brand new.
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The result is a van that gives added mobility to those with disabilities but looks almost indistinguishable on the exterior from a "regular" minivan. All the user has to do is roll in a wheelchair behind the steering wheel and operate the vehicle. Or a friend or family member can drive the van while the wheelchair-bound companion rolls into the passenger side or back seat position.
"Our customers don't want to be tagged as handicapped," said Ted Larson, director of manufacturing operations. "They can drive down the road and no one would know they are restricted from the mobility standpoint."
Vantage Mobility International ships the transformed vehicles to 250 dealers throughout the United States, who often further customize the vans to meet the needs of individual users such as installing brakes operated by hand. The company also ships modified vehicles to dealers in Canada and Europe.
It may be a niche market, but for Doug Eaton, president and chief executive, it's rewarding work.
"What gets me up in the morning and into work each day is, we are making a difference," he said. "We are giving people freedom they didn't have previously."
After two years of effort and persuasion, the company has been officially certified by Honda Motors to convert Odyssey minivans, and the first modified Odyssey rolled off the Phoenix assembly line on Oct. 10. The company expects to produce about 1,000 converted Odysseys in the next 12 months — in addition to 2,500 modified Dodge, Chrysler and Ford minivans that it has already been producing.
The conversion adds $13,000 to $17,000 to the price of the van, and dealer modifications can add another $1,500 to $2,000.
About 75 percent of the vans produced by Vantage Mobility are ultimately sold to buyers who finance the purchase privately, Eaton said. The remainder is funded by government veterans and vocational rehabilitation programs, he said.
Hal Wochholz, an engineer who worked for 10 years on Apache helicopters for McDonnell Douglas in Mesa, is a typical van user. Wochholz, confined to a wheelchair because of polio, which the 75-year-old contracted before the Salk vaccine was available, said his van allows him to go to "about 99 percent of the places where I want to go."
Phoenix residents Jim and Karrie Pierson said their modified van helps them take Caroline, their 6-year-old disabled daughter, more places, making her more a part of the family.
"At first we said we didn't need it," Jim said. "But when she got older and heavier to carry, we knew we needed it."
