[Mr. Wyndham]

GM picks Tonawanda Engine Plant for new diesel line

$88 million investment a boost to Western New York economy

General Motors announced today that it will invest $100 million in the Tonawanda Engine Plant to produce a new diesel engine, a first for the plant and an innovation for the world’s No. 1 automaker.
Building the engine will preserve 150 jobs and extend the plant's viability. The engines will go into the Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-ups and the Hummer H2. Engine production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.
John Buttermore, vice president of the GM Powertrain division, is scheduled to attend an afternoon announcement ceremony, with Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer, Lt. Gov. David Paterson and officials from the United Auto Workers and local government.
“It’s important for Tonawanda and for the entire region,” Town Supervisor Ronald H. Moline said of the investment.
“We get $1 million in taxes from GM on this facility. That’s important revenue,” he said — adding that the larger economic impact is GM’s local payroll of $250 million.
The plant employs 1,860 people and is a mainstay of the local automotive industry.
GM and other automakers are embracing diesel technology as fuel suppliers clean up pollutants to meet new U.S. standards. A diesel engine can have 25 percent higher fuel efficiency than gas burners.
Currently, GM offers diesel engines in the U.S. in commercial-duty vehicles.
The Erie County Industrial Development Agency in May approved a $350,000 tax break for the plant, contingent on the new investment.
GM plans to renovate a section of the plant to house the new engine line.
In January, the automaker announced a $300 million investment at the plant to build new V-8 gasoline engines for luxury cars. The investment is supported by a $5 million grant from the Empire State Development Corp.
The factory alongside the Niagara River makes a range of gasoline engines that power everything from Saturn Ions to Hummers and commercial duty trucks.
The Tonawanda plant has a long history of producing GM’s newest engines. The diesel represents another innovation beyond the plant’s gasoline-powered product line, plant officials said.
“It’s important to keep that plant viable,” Moline said. The Town of Tonawanda and Erie County are splitting the expected $1.5 million to $2 million cost of street improvements around the plant to support GM’s investment, he said.
Among the officials expected to attend the announcement, according to GM, are Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Daniel Gundersen and Kevin Donovan, assistant Region 9 director of the United Auto Workers.
The Tonawanda Engine Plant recently ranked among the 10-most-efficient auto industry engine plants in North America, according to the widely watched Harbour Report, issued by a Troy, Mich., industry consultant.









Just thought I'd post it...warms my heart that GM can expand. The Engine is a smaller one, I think I read in the actual article that it was a 4.8 L or something like that.