It's a whole new car from the ground up

New presses -- with better quality and efficiency -- stamp parts for the Cobalt.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
LORDSTOWN -- Chevrolet marketing executives don't want the Cobalt to be connected to the Cavalier, not even as an upgrade, revision or a replacement. It's an all-new car, they said.
That's pretty clear to workers in the fabricating plant at General Motors' Lordstown complex.
They are stamping doors, fenders and other metal parts for the Cobalt on new multi-million dollar presses. The parts are being connected to make Cobalt underbodies on a new system.
In short, it's a new car with its parts being made on new equipment with new production methods, said John Bucciarelli, body shop west launch manager. The improvements should mean better quality and more efficiency, he said.
Examples of improvements
For example, one of the big selling points for the Cobalt is the small gaps between metal parts, such as the hood and side of the car. GM officials have boasted that the gap between these parts for the Cobalt is 3 millimeters, compared with 5 for the Cavalier.
The new underbody system helps because it is one high-speed line, Bucciarelli said. The metal frames for the Cavalier were assembled on two lines that ran half as fast.
The new system means there will be no variation among the underbodies that are produced, Bucciarelli said. The underbodies are carried through an enclosed bridge to the assembly plant for further work.
Not all of the machinery in the fabricating plant has been replaced. Some equipment, such as one that turns steel coils into sheets that can be stamped, have been refurbished.
Increase in productivity
Besides improving quality, the plant upgrades make it more productive because of increased automation, Bucciarelli said.
For example, the four new presses replace older-style presses that required workers to change the dies that stamp the parts. The new presses change dies automatically.
Jim Kaster, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714, said the new presses are easier to work and also provide for easier stacking of finished parts.
They also require fewer workers. Losing jobs doesn't sit well with Kaster, but he hopes most of the reductions will be absorbed by retirements.
Final numbers haven't been announced, but union officials say the work force of 1,800 hourly workers could be cut by as many as 600. The work force has been cut from 2,400 in the past two years as workers have retired. If upcoming retirements aren't enough, some workers could be shifted to other GM plants if there are openings, Kaster said.
Adding production
He also hopes GM will decide to keep more work -- and more jobs -- in the plant.
GM announced last December that instead of making parts for several assembly plants, the local fabricating plant would make parts only for the Cobalt. Kaster said the plant's productivity has gone up and union members are out to show GM that it makes sense to add to production at the plant, not decrease it.
"Our competition here is other fab plants. We want to show GM that we can produce quality products," he said.
Bucciarelli said parts still are being made for two other plants. The future of that production will be decided by corporate officials in Detroit, he said.
To get GM to commit to upgrading the plant, union members approved a new labor contract in 2001 which included combining job classifications and installing work teams.
Team concept
Kaster said the team concept is going well but has been an adjustment for some because the old system allowed senior workers to take jobs that put less physical stress on the body. With teams, workers rotate among jobs.
The advantages to the teams are that the monotony of working on an assembly line is reduced and the chance of injury is less because workers use different muscles on different jobs, he said.
The team concept also encourages input from workers because they have a better understanding of all of the jobs in their area, he said.
All of the changes have been made in less than two years as the plant continued to produce Cavaliers. Some of the work was done on weekends and during scheduled plant shutdowns, but much of it happened while the plant was operating, Bucciarelli said.
Storage areas and maintenance shops were relocated to create space. Bucciarelli credited the plant management and union for working together to accomplish the changes in time for the Cobalt.