General Motors this week resumed production of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL midsize SUVs at its Oklahoma City, Oklahoma vehicle assembly plant, just seven weeks after a tornado ravaged the plant on May 8.
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Last week approximately 750 plant employees returned to work to start production in the plant’s body and paint shops. The plant’s remaining employees required for final assembly returned to work this week.
“To have our Oklahoma City plant resume full production only seven weeks after the tornado struck is a truly amazing accomplishment,” said GM group vice president of manufacturing and labour relations Troy Clarke.
The tornado damage was so severe that GM’s initial estimates indicated it would take several months to get the facility back up and running. However, the reconstruction team completed the “remarkable task” in less than two months, GM said in a statement.
Within hours of the tornado, teams were assembled to begin the reconstruction on a 24-hour, seven-day schedule. Since then, the repair team replaced 300 tons of structural steel, 18,000 feet of heavy electrical cable, 500,000 square feet of siding, 500,000 square feet of roofing, and 8,000 tons of water-cooling capacity.
