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GM Facility Gears Up for Two New Press Lines for Future Products, Including EVs

The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit has announced a substantial investment – namely $491 million – for its Indiana-based Marion Metal Center stamping facility. This money will be used to purchase and install two new press lines that will produce a variety of steel and aluminum stamped parts for upcoming vehicles, including zero-emission vehicles.
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“While this investment prepares the facility for our all-electric future, it’s really an investment in our talented Marion team and will keep the plant working for many years to come,” said Gerald Johnson, executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability. “This investment is another example of the company bringing everyone along and investing in the people who make manufacturing a competitive advantage for GM.”

As part of the $491-million investment, General Motors will complete press and die upgrades. Renovations are in the offing as well, along with the construction of a 6,000-sqft addition to the Marion Metal Center. If everything goes according to plan, the makeover should begin this year.

General Motors hasn’t named which future products will receive stamped parts from the Indiana-based stamping center. As far as electric vehicles are concerned, the automaker has presented a lot of EVs that are scheduled to enter production in the near future. The Chevrolet Equinox EV comes to mind, given its relatively affordable starting price, along with the Blazer EV and Silverado EV. The GMC Hummer EV SUV is due to start production in early 2023, and the Cadillac Celestiq will start production in late 2023.

Save for the Silverado EV and Hummer EV SUV, all of these zero-emission vehicles feature the so-called BEV3 platform that supports front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive configurations. The body-on-frame sibling, which is used in the aforementioned truck and sport utility vehicle, is codenamed BT1.

Opened in 1956, the General Motors Marion Metal Center stamping facility presently employs more than 750 souls represented by UAW Local 977.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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