Manufacturing history

Finally, Some Good News for Flint!

May 30, 2017

General Motors recently restored Durant-Dort Factory One, considered to be the company’s birthplace and epicenter of the global auto industry.

A Century of GE Appliance Manufacturing

GE Appliances have a long history of innovation in product development and on the assembly line.

John Sprovieri

March 29, 2017

In June 2016,, General Electric sold its century-old appliances business to Chinese manufacturer Quingdao Haier Co. Ltd. for $5.4 billion. GE Appliance’s headquarters will remain in Louisville, KY, and the agreement calls for the business to continue to market the current portfolio of GE brands for at least 40 years.

General Electric Leads the Way in Locomotive Manufacturing

General Electric has a long history of assembling locomotives

Austin Weber

March 29, 2017

General Electric Co. is the world’s largest builder of diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used by numerous railroads to haul freight and passengers. Thousands of GE machines are in operation every day throughout the world.

General Electric Pioneers Jet Engine Manufacturing

General Electric has been building aircraft engines since the dawn of the Jet Age.

Austin Weber

March 28, 2017

General Electric Co. is a leading supplier of jet and turboprop engines, avionics, and electrical power and mechanical systems. Its products are used in a wide variety of commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.

Group Seeks to Save Wright Brothers’ Assembly Plant

November 28, 2016

DAYTON, OH—The nonprofit National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA)—in cooperation with the state of Ohio, the city of Dayton and the National Park Service, among others—is hoping to raise approximately $4 million by the end of this year to save the Wright brothers’ original assembly plant here.

Victor Scheinman, Inventor of Assembly Line Robot, Dies at 73

September 23, 2016

PETROLIA, CA—Victor Scheinman, the Stanford engineering professor whose electrically powered, computer-controlled robot would become the Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly (PUMA) robot, has died at age 73.

Robot History Mystery

Austin Weber

July 7, 2016

Should another company other than GM be credited with the first successful robotic application? Why did Pullman invest in Unimation? When was the first Unimate robot first installed at GM?

Happy Birthday, GM Lordstown!

Austin Weber

May 20, 2016

Today, GM's Lordstown assembly plant is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Although the facility appears to have a bright future, it also has a checkered past.

Return to the Rouge

Austin Weber

March 6, 2015

Although Ford's legendary Rouge complex is almost 100 years old, it's still an impressive manufacturing facility.

Assembly's Finest Hour

Austin Weber

June 6, 2014

While World War II was fought on numerous battlefields and beaches in Europe and the South Pacific, it was won on the assembly lines of America’s factories.