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USA - Peek inside General Motors' new $600 million paint shop in Flint

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General Motors will push 45 trucks per hour through its new $600 million paint shop.

The first "sellable" truck to come through General Motors' $600 million paint shop was on display during a news conference on Wednesday, March 16.

"What this shop allows us to do is really raise our game on a lot of capacities," said Jeff Lamarche, plant manager at Flint Assembly.

That includes 45 percent more production in Flint, he said.

The new shop will feature two separate paint booths and will paint about 45 trucks per hour, officials said.

By the end of the year new shop will be running alongside the old paint shop, GM said.

Workers are currently being trained on the new systems and some construction works is still being completed inside the facility.

"The coolest thing for me – is the layout of the paint shop – it's a brand new paint shop," said Craig Jones, paint shop area manager at Flint Assembly. "It's very nice from a working standpoint for the employees."

The $600 million paint shop covers 1.6 million square feet.

The new paint facility will not bring any new jobs, but rather take the paint facility from the assembly plant to the new site, which is the former V8 engine plant on Van Slyke Road that was closed by GM in 1999.

The paint booth will have 180 production employees per day, Jones said.

"It is a big deal not only for the workers, but for the community," said Gerald Kariem, director of UAW Region 1D. "It just shows that there's still good manufacturing jobs."

About 2,900 employees work in three shifts at Flint Assembly, a massive, 3.7 million square foot complex that opened in 1947, GM previously said.

Source: mlive.com

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