GM to create a flexible manufacturing cell at Lansing plant

Automaker’s $44.5 million investment is third at facility in the last three years

By Bob Vavra, Content Manager, CFE Media May 23, 2013

General Motors will make its manufacturing more flexible as the result of a $44.5 million Logistics Optimization Center at its Lansing Grand River Assembly plant. The plant expansion will create about 200 new jobs, company officials said in a press release.

The expansion will include a 400,000-square-foot building adjacent to the plant to sequence and assemble parts to make the manufacturing of the Cadillac ATS more flexible.

“This project is the latest example of how we’re doing business differently in GM today,” said Christine Sitek, GM North America manufacturing manager in a press release. “We’ve developed an innovative material strategy that increases efficiency and improves quality to benefit our customers, employees and the bottom line.”

“This investment was earned through the quality and flexibility that has been a hallmark of Lansing Grand River since it opened in 2001,” said Lansing Regional Plant Manager Tony Francavilla. “However, our plant could not be successful without the strong support from our local community, the city council and Mayor Virg Bernero. We’re committed to continuing world-class manufacturing performance for which we are known, and our customers demand.”

The plant currently builds the Cadillac ATS and the three Cadillac CTS models.

The Lansing facility currently employs more than 1,500 workers, with 1,351 hourly workers on its 2.5 million sq. ft. facility. It’s also the third major investment at Lansing in the last three years. Company officials spent $190 million on October 2010 for production of the ATS, which added 600 jobs and a second shift. GM also spent $88 million in October 2011 for manufacturing of the CTS.