Janesville Assembly
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Janesville Assembly is an automobile factory owned by General Motors located in Janesville, Wisconsin. Opened in 1919, it is currently the oldest factory still in use at GM.
The factory was originally built to produce Samson tractors. These failed to find buyers, so GM switched it to producing Chevrolet automobiles in 1923. It has produced the Chevrolet Caprice full-size sedan, Chevrolet Cavalier and Cadillac Cimarron compacts, and General Motors C/K Trucks pickup trucks over the years, but today builds full-size SUVs.
Production at the factory was halted during the Great Depression, but it was soon operating again. A famous sit-down strike there in 1937 became a defining moment in the history of labor union relations at GM. Janesville also produced artillery during World War II.
Janesville is one of three plants producing the GMT800 trucks like the Chevrolet Suburban, and began building the next-generation short-wheelbase GMT900 trucks in January of 2006. It began producing long wheelbase GMT900 trucks in March and an overtime shift was added to meet demand.
The plant covers 4,800,000 ft³ (446,000 m³) and employs 3,900 workers.
[edit] References
- Can GM's oldest plant survive latest cutbacks?. Detroit News. Retrieved on June 14, 2005.
