www.mybaycity.com June 14, 2011
Rotary Article 6001

70 More Jobs Coming; GM Bay City Powertrain Plant Tour Set June 23

Plant Manager Tells of Automaker's New Life, Bright Future for Local Jobs

June 14, 2011
By: Dave Rogers


Local people can see for themselves why General Motors has come back from the brink of bankruptcy and found new life.

A tour of the Bay City Powertrain plant is slated Thursday, June 23 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to showcase "The New GM" that soon will be hiring new workers for the first time in more than a dozen years.

To give folks an idea of the culture of the company visitors will follow the same safety rules as employees: no open-toed shoes, no finger rings, etc. "We want to give the public the feel for things we do to keep employees safe," said Joe Mazzeo, plant manager, who spoke last Tuesday to the Rotary Club of Bay City.

Several of GM's hottest product -- the Chevy Volt electric vehicle --will be demonstrated by local dealers Graff and Labadie.

Employees will stage a classic car show of their own as part of the company-wide open house "to thank the local community for their support," said Mazzeo.

Four local charities will be presented with donations from the plant at the open house.

Mr. Mazzeo described the new vehicles and products to support them that will give the local plant a more secure long term future. These vehicles include parts for the Volt and the Cruze as well as a new Buick Verano, Buick Regal GS, Chevy Camaro and a new small size Chevy Sonic that will come out in late August.

The local plant also will be busy making replacement engine parts for the 1.4 liter Vortec engine for the Corvette and GM trucks, products "that give us a longterm future," said Mr. Mazzeo.

The local plant is firing on all cylinders with three shifts in operation. It has been boosted by $117 million in new investment and has added 132 workers in the last year. The plant now employs 352 (including 261 hourly) and plans to add 70 by December, he said.

About 16 million parts are made annually in Bay City, Mr. Mazzeo said. These include piston pins, connecting rods, cam shafts, oil pumps and balance shafts. These parts supply all GM plants in the U.S. as well as those in China, Mexico and elsewhere across the globe.

Half the local plant's one million square feet of floor space is now occupied and the focus here is on continuing to grow and add new work and jobs, said Mr. Mazzeo.

A native of New Jersey and mechanical engineering graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, Mazzeo earned a master's degree from Wayne State University, Detroit. In his 32 year career with GM, he has worked in Flint and Pontiac and as executive director of global manufacturing quality. He also was an executive with GM-owed Saab in Sweden for three years and is a certified quality engineer.




CLUB NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS

Be sure to see Eileen Jennings final District Dispatch for her term as governor.
Click here to link to the PDF.


Board Members and Committee Chairs are needed for the upcoming year. If you're interested in serving and have not been asked, please see incoming president Ed Keating. There are opportunities for everyone.

Don't miss the program on June 21. Josh Hales, Brenda's son, will talk about his upcoming Rotary Exchange trip to Mexico next year. If you know any candidates for Rotary Exchange please bring them to the meeting.

The annual club Golf Outing is NEXT WEEK, June 27. The Helicopter Golf Ball Drop will be featured again. Of the 130 golf outings in the area this year, Rotary's may be the most colorful as everyone is encouraged to dress as his or her favorite golfer, current or historic. Prizes will be given to the best looking team!

MEMBER PHOTOS: If you missed the opportunity to have Anne Trahan take a new picture for the Rotary Directory, don't fret. Give her a call or see her at the meeting to work out a sitting. The directory picture is free. Retouched digital photos and portraits for your own use are available for a small charge.


Upcoming Programs

(See the official schedule at RotaryBayCity.org )

June 21, 2011: Youth Exchange Joshua Hales (son of Andrea) will talk about his upcoming year in Mexico.

June 28, 2011: Greats Lakes Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau. presented by Annie Rummel.

July 5, 2011: Passing the Gavel: New administration takes office for the 2011-2012 Rotary Year.

July 12, 2011: Miss Bay County 2010 Katie LaRoche will talk about her year as Miss Bay County.



DATES TO REMEMBER


Monday, June 27, 2011: Club Golf Outing.




Rotary is an intimate affiliation of carefully selected business and professional people,
having as its objective the promotion of high ethical standards in private, commercial
and civic life, and dedicated to the ideal that the basis of all worthy endeavor is unselfish service.




Current and past DISTRICT DISPATCH newsletters are available on the District site shown in the LINKS section below.

Get connected with ROTARY on Facebook.
Over 450 people like us. Let's go for 500 people liking our page!
www.facebook.com/BayCityRotary

Rotary Bay City on Facebook
Rotary Bay City on Facebook!
Click on the Blue Facebook to visit us there.

Remember! Check attendance sheets at the front desk.


LINKS

RotaryBayCity.org BayCityMorningRotary.com
District 6310 Web Site District Dispatch Archive
Rotary International Make-up On-Line at RotaryEclubOne.org
The Rotary Global History Fellowship rotaryfirst100.org
Rotary Global History.


0202 nd 03-25-2024

Designed at OJ Advertising, Inc. (V3) (v3) Software by Mid-Michigan Computer Consultants
Bay City, Michigan USA
All Photographs and Content Copyright © 1998 - 2024 by OJA/MMCC. They may be used by permission only.
P3V3-0200 (1) 0   ID:Default   UserID:Default   Type:reader   R:x   PubID:mbC   NewspaperID:noPaperID
  pid:1560   pd:11-18-2012   nd:2024-03-25   ax:2024-03-29   Site:5   ArticleID:6001   MaxA: 999999   MaxAA: 999999
claudebot