An investment of $600 million by General Motors in its Flint Assembly complex led to plant upgrades and a new paint shop.
When work began in 2014, it marked the start of the largest project in the Flint area in more than five years.
Challenges
Walbridge was contracted by Gallagher-Kaiser Corporation to design-build the new 1.3 million-square-foot paint shop. Mother nature ended up playing a major part in the project. From May 2014 through the end of summer, roughly 36 percent of scheduled working days were lost due to rain, water-pumping and associated cleanup.
Approach
Several factors played a key role in making sure progress was maintained at the project despite the foul weather:
- Great relationships with subcontractors
- Walbridge’s experience in building automotive facilities
- Preplanning based on an understanding of the land
Structural steel was set on the project in December 2014, while roofing was completed in February 2015.
As a self-performed service, Walbridge Concrete poured more than 1.3 million square feet of concrete, using specifications that include the freeze-resistant concrete and lightweight concrete and the use of additives such as steel fibers, liquid hardeners, shake hardeners and TUF Strand. The Michigan Concrete Association gave the project an Award of Excellence in the Commercial Flatwork category.
At its peak, three cranes completed steel erection – allowing workers to set penthouse air handling units and ovens in the building during structural steel placement.
The facility is expected to reduce the amount of sludge taken to landfills by 90 percent and will use 20 percent less gas and 40 percent less electricity. The paint shop is located next to GM’s Flint Assembly plant, which produces Heavy-Duty Chevrolet and GMC Sierra Crew and Regular Cab trucks. It is capable of producing Light-Duty Chevrolet Silverado Crew and Regular Cab Trucks.