Lansing Grand River Assembly Breaks New Ground In Environmental Responsibility
FOR RELEASE: January 9, 2002Lansing Grand River Assembly Breaks New Ground In Environmental Responsibility
Lansing, Mich. - From its design and construction to its manufacturing processes and energy management, the all-new Lansing Grand River (LGR) assembly plant breaks new ground in environmental responsibility.
The state-of-the-art General Motors plant is located on a brownfield redevelopment site that housed the former Oldsmobile Engine and Components plant - property that was home to Oldsmobile even before GM's founding in 1908. LGR is producing the all-new Cadillac CTS luxury sport sedan and also will build other luxury vehicles in the future.
"Environmental stewardship is an important component of being part of the Lansing community," said Robert E. "Bob" Anderson, Lansing Grand River plant manager.
GM put ISO 14001 - a voluntary set of environmental standards - in place from the outset of the project, creating a strong awareness of international environmental responsibility at the site, according to Anderson.
"LGR was designed and built to be a point of economic and environmental pride for both GM and the Lansing community," Anderson added.
Extensive recycling
The redevelopment of the 82.5 acre brownfield site required extensive care in dismantling old structures that were built a century ago under considerably less stringent environmental practices.
As the old buildings were disassembled, the majority of materials were recycled. The recycled materials included:
- 20,705 tons of steel
- 875 tons of copper
- 145 tons of cast iron
- 60 tons of stainless steel
- 35 tons of aluminum
- 8,160 tons of other metals
- 8,000 tons of concrete
The new facility is free of PCBs, asbestos and lead based paint.
Resource Management
LGR uses an innovative waste reduction program, called Resource Management, which treats packaging and other materials from the construction and manufacturing process as resources to be utilized instead of being sent to landfills.
Already in use at several GM plants, Resource Management turns suppliers and waste haulers into strategic partners. GM provides financial incentives for suppliers to find a way to eliminate waste that previously has been a normal part of doing business by reducing, reusing and recycling materials. This reverses the traditional economic model of the waste business by making it less profitable to haul trash.
LGR's waste elimination plan uses an off-site Material Optimization Center where parts carriers are sent for reuse, and cardboard dunnage is collected for recycling. Piping at the plant is above ground, eliminating the potential for underground seepage and making it easier to immediately detect and stop leaks.
Paint shop
GM has invested in the latest technology in air pollution abatement in the painting operation, traditionally one of the most environmentally challenging stages of automotive manufacturing.
Vehicles are first immersed in a lead-free electrodeposition (ELPO) primer that prohibits rust. Water-borne paints are used in the basecoat processes, eliminating volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. Ninety percent of the solvents used to purge painting equipment are recaptured and recycled. To minimize environmental impact, chrome-free phosphates are used in cleaning.
The Paint Department uses a "block painting" system that paints several consecutive vehicles the same color, significantly reducing the amount of solvents used to purge and clean painting equipment.
Central Utilities Complex
A unique public-private partnership designed, built and operates a unique $78-million Central Utilities Complex (CUC) to provide total utility services to LGR. CUC is operated by a joint venture of the Lansing Board of Water & Light, Trigen-Cinergy Solutions, and USFilter, under the name LGR Utilities, LLC. Services include electricity distribution, hot and chilled water, building and process heat, compressed air and water/wastewater services. CUC incorporates a number of innovations to provide state-of-the art efficiency and environmental benefits.
Like all commercial users, LGR buys water and gas directly from the Lansing Board of Water and Light. But CUC supplies all other utility needs for the facility. The joint venture invested its own funds to design, build, own, operate and maintain a total utilities delivery system for LGR.
Lansing Board of Water & Light is Michigan's largest municipally-owned electric utility, serving 96,000 customers in the Greater Lansing area. The utility also supplies drinking water to Lansing and surrounding areas and steam to three GM Lansing facilities as well as to a central downtown steam district. Trigen-Cinergy Solutions is a joint venture of Cincinnati-based Cinergy Corp., one of the nation's largest diversified energy companies, and Trigen Energy Corporation, the foremost thermal science company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. USFilter, based in Palm Desert, Calif., is the leading global provider of commercial, industrial, municipal and residential water and waste water treatment systems, products and services.
To help the City of Lansing enhance the riverfront park area along Grand River, GM granted the City an easement for its extensive River Walk, including wheelchair access along the river.
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