General Motors Brazil, along with officials from the Santa Catarina State and Joinville City, announced today the company's decision to build a new engine and automotive components plant in that city.

The new plant will require investments of approximately US$ 200 million and is scheduled to begin production in the 4th quarter of 2009 -- only 19 months from the announcement. The plant will employ 500 people and is expected to generate 1,300 indirect jobs.

"The decision to build a new engine plant in Brazil is essential to our ability to expand vehicle production capacity throughout the Mercosul Region," said Jaime Ardila, President of General Motors Brazil and Mercosul.

José Carlos Pinheiro Neto, vice-president of GM Brazil, said, "The plant is part of GM Brazil's strategy to place facilities in the most advantageous locations and Joinville City provides a fantastic infrastructure and has highly skilled labor."

The facility will be approximately 500,000 square meters with the plant itself comprising an area of approximately 60,000 square meters. The plant will have the capability to produce 120,000 engines and 50,000 cylinder heads per year and, when at full capacity, it will operate on 3 shifts.

The plant will include some of the most advanced processes in the area of engine machining and assembly, and cylinder head manufacturing. The machining process incorporates flexible machines with control systems that provide for rapid production changes to volume, technical changes and product improvements. In addition, the sophisticated engine test system enables operators to test engines without using fuel (gasoline or ethanol). As a result, the electrically-powered system essentially eliminates the generation of contaminants inside the plant.

Adhemar Nicolini, General Director of GM Powertrain for Latin America, Africa and Middle East, said, "An example of environmental responsibility at the plant is the closed looped system that uses water and oil, but does not create industrial waste -- meaning there is zero pollution in the production process."

As with all GM facilities in Brazil, the new plant will be built in accordance with the company's global environmental policies. For example, approximately 180,000 square meters of land will be preserved as a natural habitat.

About General Motors Corporation
General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, is a multinational corporation headquartered in the United States. GM is the world's largest automaker and has been the global industry sales leader for the last 77 years (since 1931). It is the largest of the USA Big Three Automakers (ahead of Ford and Chrysler). Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 different countries and sells them under the brands of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall.. Before it was discontinued, GM also manufactured the Oldsmobile; the oldest American car brand. As of 2007, General Motors is the fifth largest company in the world (behind Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and British Petroleum.)

General Motors (GM) was founded on September 16, 1908 in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant, and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The next year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland (later known as Pontiac) and several others. In 1909, General Motors acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers' trust, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions coupled with a collapse in new vehicle sales. A few years later, Durant would start the Chevrolet Motor car company and through this he secretly purchased a controlling interest in GM. Durant took back control of the company after one of the most dramatic proxy wars in American business history. Shortly after, he again lost control for good after the new vehicle market collapsed. Alfred Sloan was picked to take charge of the corporation and led it to its post war global dominance. This unprecedented growth of GM would last through the late 70's and into the early 80's.

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