General Motors (GM) recently announced that the company will be investing $36 million at its assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan, for future crossover production, along with $20 million at its propulsion plant in Romulus, Michigan, to increase the plant’s capacity for future 10-speed transmission production.
The Lansing facility, which currently builds the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave crossovers, is GM’s newest U.S. assembly plant. It has produced more than 2 million crossovers since the facility opened in 2006 and was the first U.S. manufacturing facility to become a gold-certified Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Today, the plant operates two production shifts and employs approximately 2,600 employees.
"We are proud of the hard work and commitment of the entire Lansing team, and the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave are important products in our growing crossover portfolio," said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. "This investment will allow us to prepare the plant for future crossover production."
The Romulus plant originally opened in 1976 as part of GM Detroit Diesel Allison Division, making diesel engines and components. It began to build engines in the 1980s and has produced more than 10.8 million V-8 engines and more than 6.6 million V-6 engines through the years. The plant currently employs approximately 1,350 people and builds V-6 engines and 10-speed transmissions used in several GM cars, trucks and crossovers. This latest investment will be used to purchase additional machining equipment and expand the transmission capacity.
"Romulus has a long-standing reputation of quality, productivity and performance, and we are proud of the hard work and commitment displayed by the entire Romulus team," Barra added. "GM’s investment in Romulus will enable the plant to continue playing an important role in our core business going forward."
For more information, visit www.gm.com.
