General Motors Fairfax
Size: 6,000 Tons
Duration: Twelve Months
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Description: Paint Shop Expansion
Square Feet: 800,000
Structural Tons: 5,500
General Motors is a worldwide leader in automotive manufacturing. They are making tremendous investment in bringing manufacturing jobs to the United States. As part of this ambitious and exciting process, Midwest Steel completed a $30 million automotive and paint shop project in Kansas City, Kansas. General Motors commissioned Midwest Steel to erect the steel for the main building and an all-new press and paint shop oven and booth setting upgrade, including providing phosphate e-coating.
In 2013, the U.S. automaker committed $600 million to the Fairfax facility’s improvements, the largest ever made in an existing GM plant. The Midwest Steel-led project helped build and equip the 450,000-square-foot paint shop and upgrade the plant’s stamping press. With the numerous building upgrades and improved steel construction, the new paint shop will use 50 percent less energy per vehicle and utilize more environmentally friendly paint by using GM-patented radiant tubes. One state-of-the-art process will improve a vehicle’s coating to prevent rust in GM cars.
The Midwest Steel team successfully overcame the General Motors Fairfax Assembly project challenges that included a tight schedule and changes in the design build plan by implementing Blue Beam as a communications team. The steel project was completed in 12 months, helping GM to continue to improve the state, and country’s workforce development. The plant is Kansas City’s largest employer in the metro area and produces one vehicle every 58 seconds.
Project Scope:
- Design Assist Services
- Building Installation
- Detail, Fab and Erect conveyor trestle to existing building.
- Unload and setting of and Process Ovens within field erection process.
- Detail fab and install spray booth steel.
- Unload and installation of Phosphate E-Coat tanks.
- Detail fab and erect Phosphate E-Coat mezzanine steel.
- Sludge tank installation
- Design, detail, fab and installation of conveyor platforms.