GM's Tonawanda Plant Eyeing Diesel Engine

by: Guest
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General Motor’s Tonawanda Powertrain plant has made a formal bid to take hold of the production of the newest GM’s lineup of engines which is the 4.5 liter high-output diesel. This new engine is what a spokeswoman had earlier mentioned which the local plant was eyeing starting last March. The said engine will also be part of the 2010 model year mid-size pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. The production of the said engine would start in 2009.

However according to spokeswoman Mary Ann Brown in an interview with British trade paper she refute reports saying that the Tonawanda plant will produce the new diesel. She said that such report is false.

The local plant acted after the Erie County Industrial Development Agency has approved last May 21 the additional $350,000 in sales tax savings for the facility in case the GM decides to invest $88 million and add a diesel engine to its line of stable products.

According to Brown the engine as well as the financial assistance which she called the final element of the plant’s business case would help in retaining 150 jobs at the manufacturing complex that presently employs 1,860 workers.

Aside from the Erie County’s help the business case will also include the plant’s track record for quality of work, efficiency, union-management cooperation, production costs and responsiveness to the needs of its customers. Unfortunately, Brown said that she still doesn’t know when decision will be made.

At present GM the manufacturer of high quality GMC tailgate handle is already making a diesel engine for heavy duty full-size trucks but they are being produced by another plant

On the other hand the diesel engine that is being sought by the Tonawanda facility has been the subject of widespread speculation starting last fall when employees were expecting for its announcement. However no announcement was made and one industry analyst thinks that GM is probably delaying it because of the problem on gas prices. It can be noted that the prices of gas has decline from $3-a-gallon last August and then climb again over the $3 limit where it is likely to remain.

The present national average price of gasoline has been over $3 for some time now and last Wednesday it has increased to $3.20 per gallon that is according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Although no diesel announcement was made last 2006, GM did say however that in January it will award the Tonawanda plant production of its advanced V8 gasoline engine which are to be employed for future luxury vehicles. Manufacturing will commence in 2009 and it is expected to be sustained through 2019 model year or beyond.

And as part of the company’s $300 million investment, Plant 5 located on Vulcan Street where the V8 engine will be produced is presently undergoing renovation. Also included in the investment are the machineries and tools for production.

The ECIDA has taken a key role in approving the financial assistance packages for the other GM projects as well. For over the last 10 years, General Motors has invested a total of $1.5 billion in the Tonawanda plant that produces six different engine types and is one of the automaker’s favorite especially if it needs to launch a new line of engines.

About the Author

Iver Penn is a Mass Communications graduate who hails from Wyoming.  She is at present an associate editor of a publishing company in Colorado.

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