The GM plant located in São Caetano do Sul, in the state of São Paulo, is the oldest active car unit in Brazil

General Motors (GM) tries to take some productivity out of the stoppages of its lines in Brazil caused by the general lack of electronic components. Since the global shortage of semiconductors would make the interruption of production in São Caetano do Sul, in the state of São Paulo, inevitable, the company decided to bring forward the works of yet another modernization of the oldest car factory in activity in Brazil, which is being prepared to produce the new anabolic generation of the Montana compact pickup. Check it out: New collective vacations are announced by Renault at its factory in São José dos Pinhais, in the state of Paraná

• More than 100 jobs will be created by ArcelorMittal, with reactivation of a rolling mill in Minas Gerais
• Faced with a water crisis, investments in renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, may alleviate a possible energy deficiency
• Elo Contact Center promises to generate 700 job openings by the end of 2021 for young people aged 18 to 24 in São Luís
• Vital Natus will open a new factory in MG later this month and promises to generate hundreds of jobs
• Coca-Cola's online program opens 26 places in free training courses for the first job; upon completion, those selected can compete for job vacancies

The modernization of the GM plant in São Paulo

GM took advantage of the shortage of semiconductors to carry out work on the factory which, in any case, would have required a halt to production. There are 4 m² of new facilities that include 93 welding robots imported from Japan. They will join another 658 in the bodyshop sector already in operation, several installed last year for the production of the Tracker SUV.

The main novelty of the renovation, one of the biggest in the factory's history of more than 90 years, is the installation of a High Speed ​​press, the first with this technology in the Americas, informs Michel Malka, executive director of the factory in São Caetano and Mogi das Cruzes. “So far this type of press has only been in operation in China.” The gigantic equipment was developed by the German Schuller together with the Brazilian subsidiary. According to Malka, the new press has the capacity to stamp 26 pieces a day – doors, sides, hood and rear lid. The one currently in use makes 12. “The new press works by intelligent activation and, in addition to greater productivity, guarantees better quality and consumes 55% less energy”, informs Malka.

The GM unit will become one of the most modern

The new press at the factory will be installed in the crater that was opened in an area that previously housed a parts and machinery warehouse. The executive explains that the car factory, the oldest in the country, is squeezed between a railway line, a viaduct, a river and the most important avenue in the city, Goiás, and cannot grow in area, “only up or down”.

To transform it into a globally competitive plant, GM has created a new concept that, according to Malka, will be exported to other units of the group. “The greenfield (when the factory starts from scratch) and the brownfield (when the factory area is expanded) already exist and now we have created the goldenfield, which is to transform an old plant into one of the most modern of the group, within the same walls.”

The factory will continue to produce the Onix Joy in the 2012 version that previously shared space with the old Montana. The new line will make the Tracker and the unprecedented generation of Montana, which will hit the market at the end of 2022. It is GM's big bet to face the Fiat Toro and Strada pickup trucks, mainly responsible for the increase in sales of the brand that took the lead from GM.

Also check: GM suspends its production at the São Paulo factory for another month, affecting the manufacture of the Tracker, Onix Joy, Onix Joy Plus and Spin models

In yet another decision on the factory in São Caetano do Sul (SP) this Tuesday (27), General Motors announced that it will extend the suspension of its activities by another 30 days due to the absence of semiconductor chips. Therefore, the Chevrolet Tracker, Onix Joy, Onix Joy Plus and Spin models will remain without production.

In June of this year, GM implemented an agreement involving 400 employees, based on MP 1.045, which authorizes the suspension of factory activities in SP for 120 days and expired on Monday (26). Therefore, if General Motors takes this measure, vehicle production should only resume on August 26, according to statements by the president of the local metallurgist union, Aparecido Inácio da Silva. The automaker informed that due to the lack of components, it will be more complicated to resume activities before this date.