General Motors' Town of Tonawanda engine plant plans to add 415 jobs and retain 300 others

as a result of winning a new V-8 engine line, Gov. David A. Paterson said Tuesday.

Production of the "Generation V" engine — representing a $400 million investment by

GM — is set to begin in 2012. It could bring the total job count to near 1,200, welcome

news for a plant that last year was nervous about its future amid job cuts, the phaseout of

two engines and GM's bankruptcy.

Plant managers and union leaders said local-level labor-management cooperation enabled the

new investment by GM, as did the plant's long track record in producing a variety of engines.

"This work force is the best work force out there," said Bob Coleman, shop chairman of

Local 774, United Auto Workers. "We will achieve any goal at Tonawanda."

It was the second major investment by GM in the plant announced this year. In February, the

automaker chose the River Road site for a $425 million investment tied to a next-generation

Ecotec engine, set to begin production in 2012 and retaining 470 jobs.

"This is like winning the Super Bowl two years in a row, isn't it?" said Salvatore Morana,

president of Local 774.

The new V-8 will be made of aluminum, rather than iron, with improved fuel efficiency and

suited to meet tougher emissions standards, said Steve Finch, the plant manager. The engine

will likely be used in pickup trucks and crossover vehicles, but GM models have not been

specified.

The $400 million investment will include facility renovation, installation of highly

flexible machining and assembly equipment and special tooling, Finch said.

The Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development arm, is providing a $6

million grant from its Upstate Blueprint Fund. The grant will reimburse a portion of eligible

outlays for machinery and equipment acquisition, and renovation expenses.

Dennis M. Mullen, Empire State Development's chairman and CEO-designate, told workers the

$400 million investment was "a vote of confidence for you on behalf of GM."

"You have done outstanding work," Mullen said. "Manufacturing is not dead."

The Town of Tonawanda plant currently has 792 employees, including 645 hourly workers, 217 of whom are on layoff.

Finch said he expects the two engine lines announced this year will enable the plant to

call back all of its laid-off workers. After that, laid-off workers from other GM sites will

have the first opportunity to fill new positions.

Plant and union leaders said active labor-management cooperation made winning the V-8

possible.

"When we were told that our standards may determine new work coming into this facility, we

got together with the managers over at the [union] hall, and we sat down and said, "What do we

have to do to raise our [manufacturing] scores, our quality, the efficiency just in general?'

" said Joe Cantafio, a longtime member of Local 774's shop committee.

Workers accepted such changes as an alternative work schedule, consisting of four 10-hour

days, and 30 skilled trades workers were brought back to work straight time on weekends,

Coleman said.

As new jobs are added, Finch urged plant workers to "stay diligent" about their safety

record, quality and GMS manufacturing scores, a GM measurement of performance.

"This is the house that you built, and all of those people that are going to come in will

enjoy all of the hard work and fruits of your labor," Finch said.

While labor-management cooperation was important to securing the V-8, the work force's

skill and experience, and the plant's friendly atmosphere, also were integral, Finch said.

"I think when you really talk about where you want to put work, and what kind of

environment you want to create, that's what we experience here at this facility," he said.

Morana, Local 774 president, said the regional economy will benefit. "You know that when

the work starts coming in and we start putting engines out, it's going to be felt beyond these

walls of this facility," he said.

Some had speculated that the plant also might be awarded production of a V-6 engine, but

that decision is yet to come, Finch said. "We've been told definitely about the V-8, a lot of

speculation that there may be a V-6, but ... there's no information about it."

The new V-8 brightens the outlook for the 3.1 million-square-foot plant that has been

making engines for more than 70 years. When John Buttermore, a GM executive, visited a year

ago, he called the site "a legend." And Buttermore said with that status came added

responsibility, recalled Richard Snary, assistant plant manager.

Buttermore said the employees "owe it to ourselves, and we owe to the men and women who

have worked here for 70 years that we need to live up to the legend and we need to perform

like the Tonawanda engine plant," Snary said.

"So what did we do? We delivered," Snary said. "And a year later, here we are."