General Motors Co. is within a month of starting construction on a $44.5 million logistics center at its Lansing Grand River assembly plant.
The Detroit automaker has started to move dirt in preparation to start building. The 400,000-square-foot facility will be connected to Lansing Grand River’s general assembly building and is expected to create 200 jobs, Lansing-based spokeswoman Erin Davis said.
Contractors will start to lay underground pipes in January before the building itself begins to take shape, Davis said.
GM wants the logistics center to sort and deliver parts to the assembly line, a process referred to as sequencing. Suppliers currently handle the task, so bringing the operation in house would cut costs and transportation back and forth.
It has not determined which parts will be sorted there. About 1,350 workers at Lansing Grand River build the Cadillac CTS and ATS luxury cars. The Chevrolet Camaro is due to start coming off the line, possibly in 2015, with the possibility of more jobs.
The logistics center should be finished by late 2014. The carmaker received $4 million in tax credits from the city of Lansing that cover half of the taxes for construction and new equipment for 14 years, which includes two years of construction.
GM said today it also plans to build a $121 million logistics center at its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. The factory makes the Chevrolet Impala and Malibu, as well as the Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac ELR electric vehicles. The facility is expected to add 50 jobs.
Source: MEDC
Click here to be introduced to the MEDC