GM to invest $322 Million in Ohio Plant

[prototype66]

GM To Invest $332 Million In Toledo Transmission Plant

• New fuel-efficient, front-wheel-drive, six-speed transmissions added to line-up
• Approximately 600 hourly jobs retained
• Nearly $1 Billion invested in Ohio in one year

TOLEDO , OHIO – General Motors Corp. will invest $332 million in its Toledo, Ohio transmission plant to produce a new six-speed, front-wheel-drive automatic transmission that will deliver an excellent balance of performance and fuel economy in GM’s mid-size vehicle segment.
The investment includes facility renovation, new machinery, equipment and special tooling to support the production of the new Hydra-Matic 6T40/45 six-speed transmission. In addition to the $332 million facility investment, GM will invest an additional $57 million for vendor tooling, containers and investments at other locations necessary to support the Toledo operations. Construction is slated to begin in July, and production of the transmission is scheduled to begin in February 2010. The project will retain about 600 hourly jobs.
“Six-speed transmissions play a key role in GM’s commitment to change the way the world drives,” said John Buttermore, GM Powertrain vice president of global manufacturing. “With more fuel-efficient transmissions and engines, as well as advanced propulsion technologies like flex fuels, hybrids and fuel cells, GM is transforming its product portfolio to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, while maintaining outstanding driving performance. The GM Powertrain Toledo plant and the new fuel-efficient products we are bringing here are integral in that transformation."
The investment announced today is in addition to a $540 million investment GM announced last year for rear-wheel-drive six-speed transmission production at the Toledo Transmission plant. Construction of the 400,000 sq. ft. project is about two months ahead of schedule.
“GM’s investments in Ohio, totaling close to $1 billion in the last year, is a significant vote of confidence in our employees and UAW Local 14 who have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to benchmark performance that is contributing to the company’s turnaround,” Buttermore said.
Buttermore thanked Ohio’s leaders on the federal, state, county and local levels – including Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner – for providing the business case to support GM’s investments in Ohio.”
“GM is making an enormous commitment to the State of Ohio and I commend them for their investment in our state,” said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. “This is good news for Ohio workers and a testament to the great value of our highly skilled workforce and competitive business climate.”
The new 6T40/45 transmission provides improved fuel economy and performance and features a compact, contemporary design. It allows the vehicle to stay in first gear longer, improving launch and acceleration. It also retains an overdrive in top gear for low-rpm highway cruising. The transmission’s gear set is on the same axis as the engine crankshaft centerline, which makes the entire powertrain more compact. This provides chassis designers more flexibility in designing the vehicle’s interior space compared to a conventional off-axis transaxle.
GM Powertrain’s Toledo Transmission facility opened in 1916, and moved to its present location in 1955. For five consecutive years from 2000 to 2004 the Toledo Transmission Plant was ranked No. 1 in productivity by Harbour & Associates Inc.’s annual report on North American transmission and powertrain plants. The plant ranked No. 2 in 2005 and 2006. The 2.1 million sq. ft. plant employs 2,033 hourly and 265 salaried employees with an annual payroll of $276 million.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

CONTACT(S):
Sharon Basel
GM Powertrain Communications
Phone: 248-857-2083
Cell: 313-378-6647
E-mail: sharon.basel@gm.com

[spaz]

looks like the 4T45's days are numbered. Good news for all the GM cars that use it now the 6 speeds will be hooked up to the smaller engines that need as much help as possible wringing out the most performance from them.

[pkd87]

My dad works at that plant. This is good news. Now they will be building 6-speed trannys for both rwd and fwd vehicles.

[GMusa]

This is really good news... especially since I live right down the street from the Toledo powertrain plant!!

[megeebee]

GM is all about transmissions these days. Heres' a report about St. Catherines, Ontario and what I think is the same transmission:


GM to Invest $400 Mil towards 6 Speed Automatic Plant

[jzchev28]

yay go TOLEDO!

[Gm786]

Sounds good to me.

[asim]

Yay! I just mentioned about GM needing to invest in transmission plants for new 6-speeds for FWD and RWD vehicles. Then the company announce the St. Catherines deal a day later, and then this Toledo plant the day after.

[PA Dweller]

Glad for once I don't hear news of GM closing down another plant, it was beginning to get depressing.

[Havasavana]

Originally Posted by PA Dweller

Glad for once I don't hear news of GM closing down another plant, it was beginning to get depressing.

Right. But here's an interesting piece from the link below that indicates that the Toledo plant might not be getting the best equipment after foreign plants:

"The 4L60 / 4L65 / 4L70 are produced in two plants, Toledo, OH and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. The Ramos Arizpe plant has state-of-the-art gear processing systems, and similar systems have now been upgraded at the Toledo plant, which has been building transmissions since 1982."

The text seems to apply to upgrades for 2007 transmissions. I know that in early 2003 the Toledo plant was making over 40k transmissions a week, so I'd think that has to be the highest volume plant, and it's puzzling to me why they wouldn't get the best equipment first, or at least before a plant in Mexico. Lots of interesting stuff at the link about tweaks to engines and transmissions.

http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en...VORTEC42LI6VVT

[PA Dweller]

Originally Posted by Havasavana

Right. But here's an interesting piece from the link below that indicates that the Toledo plant might not be getting the best equipment after foreign plants:

"The 4L60 / 4L65 / 4L70 are produced in two plants, Toledo, OH and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. The Ramos Arizpe plant has state-of-the-art gear processing systems, and similar systems have now been upgraded at the Toledo plant, which has been building transmissions since 1982."

The text seems to apply to upgrades for 2007 transmissions. I know that in early 2003 the Toledo plant was making over 40k transmissions a week, so I'd think that has to be the highest volume plant, and it's puzzling to me why they wouldn't get the best equipment first, or at least before a plant in Mexico. Lots of interesting stuff at the link about tweaks to engines and transmissions.

http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en...VORTEC42LI6VVT

Thats stupid, the Toledo plant should of got the upgrades first. Must be a weird reason. I also looked at the link your provided and dam GM is still using allot of 4 speeds.