General Motors plans to spend $51m to install equipment at its Bedford, Indiana aluminium die casting foundry to manufacture drive unit castings for the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and other current casting applications.
Renovation work will begin immediately at the factory. Earlier this year, the 1m square foot site began producing electric drive unit castings for the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup and 2024 SUV. Production of the truck begins this month at GM’s Factory Zero assembly plant, located in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan.
“Our Bedford operation is one of the leading aluminium die casting facilities in the world and this investment is a testament of our confidence in the employees,” said Phil Kienle, GM head of North America manufacturing and labour relations.
“This investment is another example of the company bringing along our workforce in our journey to an all electric future while we strengthen our current products.”
The Bedford plant opened in 1942 and is a claimed leader in aluminium die casting capabilities. The site’s 900 hourly and salaried workers manage semi-permanent mould and die casting processes that produce cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, transmission cases, structural components, and drive unit housings used in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles.