General Motors has just celebrated 90 years of operation in Brazil altogether with the achievement of 14.5m vehicles produced.
The celebration coincides with the start of the biggest investment plan ever in the country over one five year period: BRL6.5bn/US$2.4bn between 2014 and 2018.
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The money will be used for developing new products, updating current models and research of new technologies related to energy efficiency and connectivity.
The Brazilian market is third for the automaker after China and the US. Last year it sold around 580,000 Chevrolet cars and pushed the brand to become runner-up overall and retail leader (not counting company and government fleets), outpacing Volkswagen.
Celebrations included a flash mob with 1,000 employees forming a mammoth ’90’ figure and the sealing of a time capsule filled with messages for the future, its content scheduled for disclosure 10 years from now when the company completes its century here.
A logistics centre for reception and forwarding of production materials was opened at company HQ in Greater São Paulo’s São Caetano do Sul. It features an innovative management method to improve productivity.
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By GlobalDataThe new building covers 30,000 sq m and is 11 m high. Daily parts turnover is to reach 1.4m components of trim, upholstery and mechanical parts to feed local assembly lines that pump out five out of the 11 models made locally, among them Cruze, Cobalt, and Spin.
Capacity is twice the former centre and it benefits from a very efficient materials addressing management system. The logistics centre, besides being the most modern of its kind within GM, will be the template for future company units around the world.
Construction took three years and was accomplished without disrupting production at the plant opened in 1930, the oldest in the country. Following several updates, capacity now tops 60 units per hour.
Both demolition of the old building and construction of the new logistics centre were driven by sustainability: materials from the demolished structure were recycled.
Besides allowing faster unloading, a better layout was designed. This results in cleaner organisation of the delivery flow and will help to reduce supplier truck traffic in surrounding neighbourhoods.
There is a 60% electric power consumption reduction for the new building thanks to use of several technologies such as thermal, translucent walls and roof prismatic domes to let natural light in, while blocking infrared rays.
These, coupled to an unpowered ventilation system, help to reduce temperature increase inside the warehouses.
