By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
In the spirit of innovation and collaboration, General Motors announced Monday it is investing $245 million in the Orion Assembly Plant for a vehicle ‘unlike any? the plant has ever produced.
The launch, which is expected to begin in the next couple years, will add an additional 300 jobs to the local economy.
The newest investment piggybacks the announcement of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, an all-electric vehicle that will begin production at the Orion Assembly Plant in 2017, analysts predict.
GM will release specific information on the vehicle closer to the launch date, a few years down the line when production is slated to begin.
The $245 million investment’including the $160 million set aside for the Bolt, $545 million to retool the plant for its current Chevy Sonic and Buick Verano, and the $12 million in 2013 for their landfill gas pro-generation power houses’brings total investment in the Orion GM plant to $962 million since 2010.
Monday’s announcement is part of the $5.4 billion GM will spend in U.S. manufacturing in the next three years.
It is the spirit of collaboration, however, that has brought the Orion Assembly to this point.
‘This plant is a shining example of GM manufacturing on how to get the job done, and how to get it done working together,? GM North America Vice President of Manufacturing and Labor Relations Cathy Clegg told to a cheering crowd of GM employees. ‘Every time we want a unique, innovative, or creative approach to something, we usually tap into Doug and Joel, and this team at Orion, to help us out.?
Nearly two-thirds of the plant is powered by landfill gas from Eagle Valley Landfill, Orion Assembly’s neighbor, along with another landfill, to help eliminate the burning of coal. Green energy sources were a contributing factor to keeping the GM plant operating during reconstruction in 2009, according to the Eagle Valley website.
This innovation, along with the recent development of a process-monitoring tool by paint shop employees, has helped put the Orion Assembly on the map in terms of creative solutions.
The robotic paint applicator alerts operators to potential failures prior to happening, and has been applied to other GM manufacturing sites. GM predicts an expected savings of $5.5 million over five years for every two sites that adopt this practice.
‘This is a great example of how an innovative solution at one site can be applied across the company,? Clegg said.
Although market demand has been on the lesser side for the subcompact and small cars produced at Orion since January, with the recent layoff announcement of 100 employees to begin in July, GM Plant Manager Doug Hanley is very pleased to see the continued investments.
Ideally, GM will bring some of those guys back, he said.
‘We do have the upside potential if the market swings in a different direction and hopefully that will happen in the future,? he said, adding GM is thinking forward in terms of opportunities.
For UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, choosing Orion Assembly for the new vehicle production shows how far the plant has come.
In 2009 Orion Assembly was inactive and expected to close following GM’s bankruptcy, however, it was reopened in 2010 after the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) agreed to considerable concessions.
It is collaboration like this that has made GM attractive for new investments.
‘I think it has a lot to do with the teamwork that is being done here, the team members on the floor, the UAW members, the leadership, the management side, they really are collaborating and figuring out how to solve problems,? Estrada said.
While GM would not say whether or not the new vehicle would be a subcompact, or small car, Clegg did not wave it away.
‘Does it make sense to make these types of vehicles in America’it does? Do we expect to continue to make small cars in this country? Yes we do.?
Clegg said the $245 million would fund new body shop tools, general assembly tools, and perhaps more robotics tools.
From national representatives to regional, management to line workers, the sentiment was the same.
‘As long as I know we have product for this plant and the membership, I’m glad to be here,? UAW Local 5960 Shop Chairman Joel Persinger said.
‘You won’t find a workforce like GM’s,? an employee echoed.
Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said he will likely be a customer, with his two younger daughters eyeing what’s going on at the Orion Assembly.
‘We’re growing as a township, and a lot of that has to do with what’s going on in here,? he said.