Cruz-ing with history Chevy factory in Lordstown celebrates 50 years
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Final checks are made to a Chevy Cruze at the Lordstown factory in 2016, when the plant was celebrating 50 years of operation.
A long line of 2016 Chevrolet Cruzes roll down the assembly line on their way out of the factory.
Rodney Hamilton, a UAW-GMS integrator at the plant in Lordstown, Ohio, leads a tour of the factory to Chevrolet dealers from Western Pennsylvania during a special event there in April.
Tires are pulled from a conveyor belt on their way to being installed onto a vehicle.
LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Over the last half-century, American manufacturing has faced tremendous upheaval and long-lasting changes, with no better example than the automotive industry.
But during that time, the General Motors vehicle assembly factory located in this rural town of 3,322 residents just off the Ohio Turnpike about a 90-minute drive from Pittsburgh has thrived and even expanded, now making the remodeled Chevrolet Cruze, a popular compact sedan sold worldwide.
The plant is celebrating its 50th anniversary Friday and Saturday with open house tours of the facility to the public and a massive car show, which will showcase many of the historic cars that rolled off the assembly line during its lengthy history.
“Lasting 50 years in anything is an accomplishment,” United Auto Workers Local 1112 Vice President Tim O’Hara said. “In the auto industry, it’s very special since there’s so much turnover with plants closing. We’re so proud, both the retired and active members, of all the accomplishments over the years.”
A motorist driving west along the Turnpike just a few miles after crossing into Ohio can’t help but notice the sprawling 6 million square-foot factory built on nearly 1,100 acres of land that resembles a miniature city. It’s the closest automotive factory to the Pittsburgh area.
The factory has produced 15.8 million vehicles – mostly Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Cadillacs – and has averaged 866 per day every day since the first one rolled off the assembly line in April 1966. The workers here even briefly built 20,000 Toyotas – basically Chevy Cavaliers with a Toyota nameplate and the steering wheel on the right side – in an usual trade deal with Japan during the 1990s.
The plant has been vital economically for this region and the 4,500 people who currently work here, along with the nearly 10,000 retirees who still live in the area.
The Mahoning Valley lost an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 manufacturing jobs during the downturn in the steel industry, O’Hara said, but the Lordstown factory continued to churn out cars at a feverish pace.
“If you didn’t work here, you knew a relative or a friend who did. Everyone knew someone who worked at GM,” O’Hara said. “It’s a huge thing for the Mahoning Valley. We hope to continue to be a major factor economically.”
The factory workers gave a tour of the facility last month to representatives from dozens of Chevrolet dealerships across Western Pennsylvania to celebrate the unveiling of the newly-designed Cruze. The “trim shop” bustled with activity as workers put the final touches on the cars before heading out the door.
Rodney Hamilton, a UAW-GMS integrator who has worked at the plant for nearly 40 years, said it’s been amazing to watch the process change over his time. His job is to identify ways to make the process more efficient and solve any issues that might arise along the assembly line.
“It’s a challenge and continuous improvement. It’s a challenge every day when you come in,” Hamilton said after leading one of the tours. “Through the years, it’s gotten better safety wise, more ergonomically operator friendly. Just seeing it evolve throughout the years for the better,” Hamilton said. “It’s an experience.”
The body begins in the fabricating plant on one side of the complex, then moves to the paint shop next door and finishes in another part of the factory in the trim shop and chassis line.
Cars are attached to rails like a roller coaster and can be seen moving high above the floor as they move to different sections of the trim shop. There are strict standards, rules and safety regulations that are normal operating procedure to keep workers from being injured, Northeast Region Chevy Field Manager Stacey Hardway said.
“Every piece of the puzzle is an integral part from start to finish,” Hardway said. “It allows them to run flawlessly every day. When you get to see it and experience it … it’s extremely impressive how it works, how it operates, how all the machines are able to not only work to together, but the people who operate them are able to coordinate in almost a symphony of production.”
In all, it takes 20 to 23 hours to build a car from start to finish, O’Hara said. The plant will eventually produce 1,300 cars a day when the workers streamline the manufacturing process for the new Cruze, he said.
The focus over the next few days, however, is the 50th anniversary celebration.
There will be open house tours for the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. The tours are open to people ages 10 and older, and those attending must have appropriate footwear, O’Hara said.
There will also be a huge car show in the factory’s parking lot beginning at 10 a.m. with a thousand vehicles expected to be on display, O’Hara said. About 50 of them will be vehicles that have been built here over the past 50 years in a special “Heritage Section” in the parking lot.
Unfortunately, one of the cars that won’t be around is the white 1966 Chevrolet Impala that was the first one off the line. O’Hara said they’ve searched registration records for the vehicle that left the plant in April 1966, but everything they’ve found indicates it was scrapped at some point.
Even without the very first car, the anniversary celebration will be a special moment for General Motors, the plant workers and the Lordstown community, Hardway said.
“It’s such an honor to be able to celebrate that and it’s a great accomplishment for any business, especially for the plant that has done so well and gas created so many safe and wonderful vehicles for us,” Hardway said. “They’ve been a great partner and they’ve done an awesome job.
“It’s a great birthday, if you will, to celebrate.”