GM revival at Spring Hill to boost area

General Motors Co. announced on Monday that it will begin producing the Chevrolet Equinox, a midsized SUV, at its Spring Hill plant next year and that the facility will be a flexible manufacturing center which can be easily and quickly adapted to produce top-selling vehicles and take loads from other GM plants.

An event attended by dignitaries including Gov. Bill Haslam, both of Tennessee's U.S. senators and United Auto Workers president Bob King was held at the plant to make the vehicle announcement; officials pressed a button to symbolically restart the production line.

Large investment

GM will initially invest $61 million and create 685 jobs at the plant, according to vice president for labor relations Cathy Clegg; a second phase of work will invest $183 million and create 1,200 jobs producing a yet-to-be-named mid-sized GM vehicle starting in the 2015 model year.

Local officials told the Times-Gazette last month that when the GM plant was at its peak, it had a definite impact on growth in the northwestern portion of Bedford County.

The re-opening of the plant was announced earlier this year, but it was unclear exactly what the plant would produce.

'A big deal'

"This is a big deal to us," said Haslam, praising the original recruitment of GM to Tennessee by Lamar Alexander, who was then governor and who now serves as U.S. Senator.

Alexander recalled Bobby Bare's country hit "Detroit City," about a Michigan auto worker longing for the South. He noted the homecoming that occurred when GM opened the Spring Hill plant in the 1980s. He said the plant's location, technology and workforce are conducive to automobile production.

"Tennessee has become the new hub for the American automobile industry," said Alexander.

Corker booed

Alexander's colleague, Sen. Bob Corker, was less-warmly received by the crowd, drawing some boos when he was introduced. Corker opposed the bailout packages sought by GM and Chrysler in 2009.

"I see the saga continues," quipped Corker.

Gary Casteel, of United Auto Workers Region 8, said he told his wife about today's announcement and she remarked that it was appropriate that a job announcement take place right before Thanksgiving.

"Thanksgiving's been changed to today," responded Casteel.

Casteel praised the government assistance, which he referred to as bridge loans, which allowed the company to survive. He said that if GM and Chrysler had been allowed to fail in 2009, they would have brought the third major U.S. automaker, Ford, down with them.

Ups and downs

The Spring Hill facility was originally opened in the 1980s as the headquarters and first assembly plant for GM's newly-created Saturn division.

A 2004 labor agreement brought the Saturn employees under the same contract as their counterparts in other GM divisions and opened the door for changes at the plant, with Saturn production moving elsewhere and other GM models moving to Spring Hill.

Assembly operations were shut down at Spring Hill in 2009, the same year that GM entered bankruptcy protection and received federal assistance. The end of assembly operations at Spring Hill resulted in layoffs for more than 2,000 workers.

The Saturn brand, long since moved away from Spring Hill, was discontinued by GM a year ago. Even so, area residents often still refer to the GM facility as "the Saturn plant" out of force of habit.

New flexibility

Clegg said the plant's ability to quickly shift from producing one model to another will be a key to GM's strategy of speed and flexibility.

"It's the only way that we can compete in a very global economy," said Clegg.

Haslam acknowledged that the popular Equinox is also being produced at other GM plants.

"When it's rolled out here in Spring Hill, it will be the very best Equinox ever made," said Haslam.

Joint effort

Both GM and UAW officials praised the agreements between the company and the union that made the re-opening of the plant possible.

"We have permanent workers, permanent wages and permanent benefits," said Casteel.

Union officials boasted that manufacturing jobs were being preserved in America rather than sent abroad.

"This company is about what Spring Hill is about," said UAW vice president Joe Ashton, "the middle class."