INDUSTRY NEWS
GM to Invest $49 Million in Bedford, Gives Export Work to Saginaw General Motors announced it will
invest $49 million to purchase tool- ing and equipment for its Bedford, Ind., diecasting facility and has awarded its Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, Saginaw, Mich., a job to export aluminum castings for a new engine. Te Bedord powertrain plant will use the new equipment to produce components for a recently announced 8-speed transmission and a future small engine program. Te investment is expected to create or retain 91 jobs. Te improvement is part of a $2
billion U.S. investment package GM rolled out on May 10. Te package is intended to benefit 17 facilities in eight states. Since mid-2009, GM has invested $3.4 billion in its manufactur- ing processes and created or retained 9,000 jobs in the U.S. Te Bedford facility received $111 million in April of last year to produce GM’s Genera- tion 5 cylinder heads. “We appreciate the tremendous
support we have received from the Bedford community over the years,” said GM Manufacturing Manager Arvin Jones. “This investment is possible because of the teamwork between GM, the UAW, the IBEW, the Bedford community and the State of Indiana.” Bedford currently has 405 hourly
and salaried employees. Te castings to be produced in
Saginaw are slated to go on the lightweight Ecotec 2.4L engine used
A GM employee pulls a rack of castings at the Bedford, Ind., plant prior to GM’s announcement it will invest $49 million at the facility to support new transmission and engine programs.
in fuel-efficient vehicles like the Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva in Asia. Te new work, part of a $65 million GM investment to build additional Ecotec four-cylinder engines in New York and Tennessee, is expected to cre- ate or retain 53 jobs. “GM is committed to investing in
manufacturing and jobs in the U.S.,” said Cathy Clegg, the company’s vice president of labor relations. “Tese in- vestments in powertrain manufactur- ing technology will help us meet the growing needs of our customers.”
In Tonawanda, N.Y., additional
capacity is being added for engines used in the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers. In Spring Hill, Tenn., the engine plant is adding capacity for direct-injection four-cyl- inder engines to support the accelera- tion of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. Te Tonawanda and Spring Hill
investments are part of the $2 billion investment GM announced May 10, which is expected to create or retain 4,000 jobs in 17 facilities in eight states.
Diecaster Dynacast Changes Hands Dynacast, Charlotte, N.C., has been
sold by holding company Melrose PLC, London, to a newly incorpo- rated company, KDI Holdings Inc., managed by private investment firm Kenner & Company Inc., New York. Te deal, which is expected to close
in August 2011, comes 18 months after the global diecasting firm closed its Montreal, Canada, plant. According to a Melrose executive, Dynacast has
performed well in the six years it has been in its portfolio. “As a result of the improvement in
its performance, we have quadrupled the shareholders’ investment in Dy- nacast within six years,” said Melrose Chairman Christopher Miller. According to a press release
issued by the holding company, Dy- nacast’s management team will be retained, and business is expected to
continue as usual under the Kenner & Company umbrella. Dynacast provides zinc, aluminum and magnesium diecast components to the healthcare, consumer electron- ics, computers and peripherals, and automotive industries, among oth- ers. Te company has manufacturing operations and engineering support in 20 locations globally, including North America, Europe and Asia.
July 2011 MODERN CASTING | 9
Photo courtesy of GM Corp.
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