General Motors has stated construction of a $65m (€56m) parts processing centre (PPC) in Burton, Michigan. The development represents the company’s largest single investment in a US warehousing and logistics facility for almost 40 years and it is being managed by General Motors Customer Care and Aftersales (GMCCA).
When the base opens early next year, it will be the carmaker’s main induction point in the country for Genuine GM and ACDelco service parts that need to be sub-divided and packaged for sale at the dealerships and service centres.
The new facility will be more than twice the size of the one it is replacing about 8km away. It will have 84 shipping and receiving docks, up from 35 at present. Close to 700 employees will work at the new base, including workers transferred from the current centre.
GM is not releasing detailed information about the inner operations of the PPC until closer to the grand opening, a company spokesman told Automotive Logistics, but he did say that the increase in floor space alone would help the company sharply reduce congestion in the yard and on the floor, “and we will be able to optimise workstation layout,” he said.
The parts are used to maintain every Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac sold in the US, and hundreds of competitors’ vehicles. Parts destined for vehicles made by other car manufacturers will be sold under the GM brand, ACDelco, and typically include lubricants, filters and chassis components.
The current processing centre is what GM terms landfill free, namely nearly all waste is reused, recycled or converted to energy. The company will be working towards achieving the same status for the new facility.
