DETROIT——General Motors' Chief Executive Mary Barra announced Monday that the company has agreed to sell its European manufacturing arm Opel to rival PSA Group, maker of Peugeot and Citron. The announcement prompted claims that GM has shied away from the region due to proposals by the new Trump administration to impose punitive tariffs on importers into the U.S. However, GM will continue to distribute its iconic Chevrolet and Cadillac brands in Europe and will be on the lookout for "future collaborations" in the region.
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.
The General Motors’ Orion Assembly Plant sits in the shadow of a large landfill. But, the 4-million-square foot factory, which is home to the Chevrolet Sonic and the Buick Verano, uses that to its advantage. The plant derives a significant portion of its power from landfill gas.
Assemblers in many different industries depend on all sorts of pneumatic, DC electric and battery powered tools for a wide variety of fastening applications. Unfortunately, the devices are also the source of countless ergonomic headaches for manufacturing engineers.
TONAWANDA, NY—General Motors is using smart bolts equipped with RFID tags to build its new line of Gen 5 six- and eight-cylinder engines. Each bolt can store 5 kilobytes of data.
