GM invests $150M in Doraville project

Atlanta – General Motors Corp. has announced plans to retrofit its Doraville Assembly Plant at a cost of $150 million to add van production under the Buick, Saturn, Chevrolet and Pontiac brands.
The Doraville Assembly will put out the new minivans in time for the 2005 model year. The facility currently makes GM minivans, the Chevy Venture and Pontiac Montana.
GM (NYSE: GM) is adding minivans to its Buick and Saturn brands to try to grab a bigger slice of the market. It is phasing out its Oldsmobile brand, including its Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan.
GM will renovate and retool the Assembly Plant's Body Shop and General Assembly areas in preparation for the new vehicles. In the Metal Stamping Plant, five new die lines will be installed that will stamp the sheet metal for the future products.
GM's $150 million investment marks a terrific day for the men and women of GM Doraville, because it helps secure the future of our plant and our great employees for years to come, said David Prange, plant manger of the GM Doraville Assembly Plant. GM will enter four brands in the mid-van segment during the 2005 model year, exciting product entries from Chevrolet, Pontiac, and for the first time, Buick and Saturn, which all will be built at GM Doraville.
The Buick minivan will help GM compete in the high end of the minivan market, while the Saturn model will be aimed at import buyers, John Middlebrook, a GM vice president of advertising and brand marketing, told Reuters at the National Auto Dealers Association convention.
The company will also continue to offer a Chevrolet and Pontiac minivan, but no decision has been made on whether to keep the current Venture and Montana names, he said.
The GM Doraville Assembly built 238,609 vehicles in 2002. The assembly plant, which was opened in 1947, currently employs approximately 3,600 people.