GM to invest US$148M in Tennessee’s Spring Hill Manufacturing
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Investment will allow automaker's Tenn. plant to build its first V8 engines, responding to consumer demand for SUVs
GM’s investment will add capacity, allow the plant to build Small Block 6.2L V8 engines. PHOTO: GM
SPRING HILL, Tenn.—General Motors is planning to invest US$148 million into its Spring Hill Manufacturing plant outside Nashville, Tenn.
The funds will repurpose flexible machining and assembly equipment, allowing the plant to build V8 engines while retaining approximately 200 jobs.
“This investment will position GM and its workforce to promptly respond to consumer demand for this engine in the popular truck and SUV segment,” Arvin Jones, manufacturing manager for GM North America, said. “The flexibility of Spring Hill’s engine machining and assembly equipment is allowing GM to respond deftly when additional engine variant capacity is needed.”
Building out its capacity to respond to consumer demand for larger vehicles and more power, the new Small Block 6.2L V8 engines will be the first V8s built at Spring Hill.
The engine is currently in use in the Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab, GMC Sierra Crew Cab, Yukon Denali, Yukon XL Denali and the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. It’s also in production at GM’s Tonawanda, N.Y. plant, as well as in St. Catharines, Ont.
The equipment repurposing in Tennessee is scheduled to begin immediately and the company expects the plant will begin turning out engines by the fourth quarter of this year.
Since 2010, GM has announced investments of more than $1.35 billion for the Spring Hill operations.
