GM Investing $76 Million in Tonawanda, Parma Plants

Mark Reuss, GM President at Tonawanda celebration of Corvette engine production.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) says it will invest $70 million at its Tonawanda, New York engine plant and more than $6 million into its Parma, Ohio metal stamping plant. The two manufacturing-related investments support continued strong customer and dealer demand for GM’s Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

The Tonawanda investment will be used to increase capacity on the engine block machining line and the Parma investment will be used to construct four new metal assembly cells to support increased truck production volumes.

“GM continues to invest to strengthen our core business and respond to growing customer demand for our full-size pickups,” said Phil Kienle, GM vice president of North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations.

Tonawanda produces the 4.3L V-6, 5.3L V-8, and the 6.2L V-8 Ecotec3 family of engines for the Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Yukon Denali, and Cadillac Escalade. In addition, the plant builds the 6.6L small-block gas V-8 engine for the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickups. The Tonawanda engine plant is home to approximately 1,300 employees. The plant’s hourly workforce is represented by UAW Local 774.

The Parma Metal Center processes more than 800 tons of steel per day and services and supports approximately 35 customers, including the majority of General Motors North America produced vehicles. Parma has more than 750 total dies and can produce up to 100 million parts per year. The manufacturing processes include small, medium and large transfer press lines, high speed progressive presses, and a cut-to-length shear, as well as GM North America’s largest stand-alone, multi-cell, resistance and laser welding metal assembly operations. Parma employs approximately 1,000 employees. Hourly employees are represented by UAW Local 1005.