MASSENA - The General Motors Powertrain Massena plant will undergo a $4 million upgrade to manufacture the aluminum cylinder head for the company's new Vortec engine series. As part of the move, three GM suppliers will move their operations into the Massena Business Park, says Patrick J. Kelly, economic developer for the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).
The plant upgrade will allow GM to retain its work force of 500, and the three new companies will add 40 jobs to local economy, says Dave Rourke, personnel director for GM Powertrain Massena.
Godfrey & Wing, Inc., a Cleveland-based metal finisher, will open its first location outside Ohio in order to serve the Massena plant. Indiana-based Alfe Heat Treating, Inc. and Michigan-based CBS Boring & Machining Co. Inc. will join Godfrey & Wing in two new buildings in the Massena Business Park. The IDA will add 10,000 square feet to an existing 20,000-square-foot building in the park, and work on a new 25,000-square-foot building will begin in March, says Kelly.
The GM plant currently manufactures aluminum cylinder heads for the company's Ecotec: 2.2-liter engines, used in the Saturn, Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunfire, Grand Am, Oldsmobile Alero, and several European models. The Ecotec is reaching the end of its production cycle, says Rourke. The new Vortec engine is designed for three different configurations and greater use of common parts. Engine-assembly plants at Flint, Mich. and Tonawanda, N.Y. will use the Massena plant's Vortec cylinder heads.GM Powertrain uses a casting process known as "lost-foam casting" that allows complex castings using less aluminum than older methods. The process uses steam to produce polystyrene molds that combine engine parts into a single casting, reducing the steps needed to make a cylinder head. The timetable for the Vortec upgrade hasn't been set, says Rourke.
No comments:
Post a Comment