Evening star., 1953-09-05
By the Asseeioted Press

LIE fCO14, 0cPI. C.-11OW OO
you get back into production,
fast. if your plant is knocked out
by fire, earthquake-or flattened
by enemy bombers?
Some practical experience in
plant rehabilitation under ex-
treme conditions is being gained
these days by General Motors.
On August II, at GINS big
Livonia, Mich, automatic trans
mission plant, a spark from a
welder's torch found its way into
a conveyor trough filled with
combustible rust-inhibiting liquid.
When the flames died down
the huge modern plant looked as
if it had been smacked by a
block buster.
Production Of GINS hydra
matte transmission units was
wiped out. Expensive tools, jigs
and dies used IN making the
gear-shifting device were buried
in the smoking rubble. Damage
was estimated at $50 million.
Hydra-matic tranSmisSionS are
used in GINS CadillacS, OldS-
mobiles and Pontiacs, and in
Lincoln, Nash and Kaiser cars.
Thirty eight thousand workers
were laid off-6,000 at Livonia
plus $4,000 who assemble GIN
cars equipped with hydra matte.
The Cadillac plant in Detroit
shut down tight, laying off $500.
Cutbacks and layoffs we're the
order of the day at Oldsmobile-
Pontiac assembly plant in Ar
lington, Tex; Atlanta, Ga:
birmingham, Mass; Kansas
City. Kans.; Linden, N. j.; South
Gate, Calf, and Wilmington,
Del.
The disaster confronted GIN
with a probable loss this year of
$4,000 to $4,000 units of car out
put.
To meet that challenge the
company responded with one of
the biggest rehabilitation opera
tions in industrial history. It's
objective: To restore hydra
matte output in full volume in
less than 80 days.
With Harlow H. Curtics, new
ly elected president, at the helm,
GINS top brass swung into &C
ton before the debris at Livonia
had cooled.
Huge Force Modified.
They marshaled a huge force
of workmen, trucks and cranes
at the still-Smoking ruins. Some
$500 machine tools were hoiSted
out of the rubble-a job that
took about two weeks. Some
were a total wreck; others only
slightly damaged.
Meanwhile management moved
fast to find plant space to pro-
duce Hydra-matic units else
where. An old Hydra-matic
plant in Detroit was hurriedly
reopened. Space was rented from
Kaiser Motors in the former
bomber plant at Willow Run.
The least damaged of the ma
chine tools recovered from the
Livonia wreckage were moved
directly to Willow Run, to be
set up by a flying squad of 1873
experts in tooling, engineering
and production, hastily recruited
from GIN plants around the
country.
Tools needing regrinding and
other extensive reconditioning
were farmed out to 176 different
machine tool building shops.
Some went to 25 GIN plants
equipped for tool work-plants
operated by Delco and Frigidaire
as well as by the company's au-
tomotive divisions.
One major step in the rehabil-
itation was to borrow" auto
matte transmission units of the
nom -Hydra-matic type from
GINS Chevrolet and Buick divi-
Sions.
To Use TOrque ConverterS.
Chevrolet and Buick, GINS two
top sellers, use torque converter
transmissions and were not af-
fected by the Livonia fire. Start
ing next week, when the Detroit
Cadillac plant resumes produc-
ton, Bucks Dynaf1ow will be
installed in Cadillac models in
stead of Hydra matte. Oldsmo-
bile will be back in production
soon thereafter, also with Dyna-
flow, while Pontiac models will