Take That Roger: General Motors' New $1 Billion Lansing Complex

In 1989, the documentary "Roger and Me" was released, depicting the struggling automobile industry in the state of Michigan. At the time of this film, the automobile industry was severely depressed, closing down facilities all over the state, especially in Flint and Lansing. In recent years, General Motors (Detroit, Mich.) has made great strides in revitalizing the industry in Michigan. The new $1 billion automobile complex to be built on the outskirts of Lansing, in Delta Township, is a prime example of GM's renewed commitment to the automobile industry in the state of Michigan.
    Occupying a 1,300 acre site, the new complex will employ 2,800 people of which 2,600 will operate under a new contract signed with UAW Local 602, ratified in October 2000. The complex will consist of a 500,000 sqft regional metal fabrication division metal center, a 2.2 million sqft manufacturing vehicle assembly center (including body shop, paint shop and general assembly area) and a central utilities complex. GM expects the complex to be operational by 2004.
    While this will be a huge complex, GM has taken the surrounding community into consideration. The complex itself will actually occupy only one third of the 1,300 acre site. There will be a 300 foot greenbelt around the production areas to buffer the surrounding community. The greenbelt, combined with GM's environmental safety measures, have assured the surrounding community that GM is taking their needs into consideration.
    This new complex will also utilize state-of-the-art technology, intended to create the most efficient production operation possible. Much of this technology is a result of GM's commitment to in-house research. However, GM is also spending millions of dollars funding research at universities around the U.S. This is money well spent in our higher learning institutions to not only advance the automobile industry but to provide the industry with a core of intelligent future employees. With $3 million donated to Stanford University for a Work-Systems Lab, a $12 million CAD/CAM/CAE System donated to Tuskegee University, $3 million donated to Brown University for a Collective Lab and a collaborating effort at the University of Tulsa in Catalytic Converter Research in 2001 alone, GM has again demonstrated their commitment to higher education.
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