General Motors: Grand Blanc Weld Tool Center closing in July

[civilzues]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/money/...z/-/index.html

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. -
General Motors Co. says it's closing a Flint-area plant this summer and will offer its workers jobs at other plants.

GM spokesman Tom Wickham told Mlive.com on Thursday that the Grand Blanc Weld Tool Center will cease operations in July. The plant is in Genesee County's Grand Blanc Township.

The plant employs 323 hourly and 28 salaried employees.


Wickham says the plant's employees will receive offers of jobs at GM's Flint Tool and Die plant and Warren Tech Center in Michigan and the Parma Metal Center in Ohio.

The center opened in 1942 and was used to produce tanks.

[Envoy4Life]

That's too bad. Many of my clients were employees at this plant. I hope they find other jobs in GM, and better paying ones, too.

[Coloradokid]

The Grand Blanc Tool Center was one of the plants I toured in 2011 when there were open houses for the public. What a great bunch of people who work there and I wish the best for them. This is also sad for the Flint area that continues to be decimated with layoffs.

[Lowboy]

That is too bad. Isn't that where they build new assembly lines and mock them up?
Don't know about Parma, have been hearing rumors it might be closing in a few years also.

[jry]

Someone tipped us off on this a couple of months ago. Local management didn't want to cooperate with some of GM's initiatives. Things that are working at the other plants with great success.
PLUS, there are a lot of crusty guys with 40 and 50 years at their toolbox. Uncooperative guys that read the paper and eat donuts..... Gee, kind of sounds like some cops i know.

[jry]

The Grand Blanc Tool Center was one of the plants I toured in 2011 when there were open houses for the public. What a great bunch of people who work there and I wish the best for them. This is also sad for the Flint area that continues to be decimated with layoffs.

They could send some of them to the real Flint Tool and Die center. Some just need to retire, already. One of my sons degrees is in Chemistry and was with one of that plants suppliers. Hey, don't despair. It'll probably be the Grand Blanc Manufacturers Marketplace....

[Lowboy]

They could send some of them to the real Flint Tool and Die center.

Two different lines of work. Robotics, automation, assembly cells Vs metal stamping and forming.

The U.S. government constructed the plant in 1942 to produce Sherman and Pershing tanks. In 1947, the Buick Motor Division leased the plant for service activity, and Fisher Body purchased it in 1951. During the Korean conflict, Fisher Body produced Patton tanks. In 1955, Fisher Body converted the plant into an automotive body metal fabricating facility. In 1984, GM assigned the plant Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group. It became part of Cadillac Motor Car Group in 1987 and was realigned with Cadillac/Luxury Car Division in 1992. The plant then became part of GM’s Metal Fabricating Division (MFD) in 1994. In 2002, the plant became GM’s Weld Tool Center. The plant celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2007.

Why take a centrally located tool center near most of your engineering and fragment it across multiple locations?
Unless they need the floor space in Grand Blanc for production reasons I think this is just step 1 for GM exiting(outsourcing) this work.

[jry]

Two different lines of work. Robotics, automation, assembly cells Vs metal stamping and forming.



Why take a centrally located tool center near most of your engineering and fragment it across multiple locations?
Unless they need the floor space in Grand Blanc for production reasons I think this is just step 1 for GM exiting(outsourcing) this work.

They really haven't fragmented it. That function was fragmented. They were shipping dyes everywhere and having to send folks out to trouble shoot. Marion is out, Grand Rapids is out or on its way there. There was a Tool and Die plant somewhere in KC or ?. Flint is one of the plants that cooperated with GM Mgt. and are being rewarded accordingly. GM spent large to move Die Design to Flint, so, why not put it all there. Flint needs something to hang its hat on. Why not a highly important, skilled function.

[Lowboy]

They really haven't fragmented it. That function was fragmented. They were shipping dyes everywhere and having to send folks out to trouble shoot. Marion is out, Grand Rapids is out or on its way there. There was a Tool and Die plant somewhere in KC or ?. Flint is one of the plants that cooperated with GM Mgt. and are being rewarded accordingly. GM spent large to move Die Design to Flint, so, why not put it all there. Flint needs something to hang its hat on. Why not a highly important, skilled function.

There were other tool and die shops in the past, Mansfield OH, Indy and even Lordstown OH.

Grand Blanc was/is about tooling, welding cells etc.

Products & Production

World-class tooling systems (weld guns, weld-tool cells). Recent projects included weld tool cells to support the Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, Sonic and Malibu programs and a new, small Chevrolet car in the United States, the Buick Regal program in Canada and a small vehicle program in Brazil.

Flint tool & die is about metal forming. You keep bringing up metal forming when WTC is not about that.
http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/c...randblanc.html

[jry]

Right, but, its all coming back to Flint. Die design is there and they have successfully migrated their operation over the the new GM method of doing things.
Consolidation..... Finally Flint gets a little bone.

[Lowboy]

Consolidation..... Finally Flint gets a little bone.

200 skilled jobs from Grand Blanc to Parma Ohio is consolidation?

[civilzues]

I haven't been back to the area since my family left in late 2010, but is this the plant/part of the plant by Deer Park/Wal-Mart?

[smithrobs]

I haven't been back to the area since my family left in late 2010, but is this the plant/part of the plant by Deer Park/Wal-Mart?

Yes it is.

This will be another big blow to the area. My grandfather worked and retired out of that plant (the tank plant).

[civilzues]

Yes it is.

This will be another big blow to the area. My grandfather worked and retired out of that plant (the tank plant).

good lord! this area is being hit left and right. it's insane. ever since 2004ish this area hasn't had any good news.

[tomcat_cool17]

They supposedly have the option to go to Flint, Warren, or Parma.

Also, if jry's comments are correct about the length of employment for some of the workers, it would make sense to the comments that Genesee Cty Board Chairman said about 95% of the jobs being $100k positions, "livable wages," and skills that can't possibly get replaced......