Wilmington Assembly

Wilmington Assembly
The former Wilmington Assembly
pictured in June 2019
Map
Operated1947–2009
Coordinates39°43′42.97″N 75°36′41.26″W / 39.7286028°N 75.6114611°W / 39.7286028; -75.6114611
IndustryAutomotive
ProductsAutomobiles
Area3,200,000-square-foot (300,000 m2)
Address801 Boxwood Road, Wilmington DE 19804
Owner(s)General Motors
Defunct2009; 15 years ago (2009)

Wilmington Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Wilmington, Delaware.[1] The 3,200,000-square-foot (300,000 m2) factory opened in 1947, and produced cars for GM's Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel, Buick and Daewoo brands during its operation. GM closed the plant on July 28, 2009.[2]

History

The plant was located at 801 Boxwood Road. It was under the management of GM's newly created Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division created in 1945, manufacturing cars for Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac.

Some of the cars produced at the facility starting in the 1970s included (model years in parentheses):

As part of the 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring of General Motors, [3] Wilmington Assembly ceased automotive production on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Its final product was a Pontiac Solstice convertible.[4]

The closure of the Wilmington plant, for the time being, marks the end of large-scale automotive production in the Northeastern United States.[5]

Post-closure

The former Wilmington Assembly following its 2019 demolition

Fisker Automotive had chosen the plant to launch its Project Nina,[6] a plan to build plug-in hybrid sedans that cost less than $40,000 with a federal tax credit, according to the automaker. Then Vice President and former Delaware senator Joe Biden joined Fisker executives for the announcement at the plant.

Fisker said it would begin production on its vehicles by late 2012; Project Nina would eventually create or support 2,000 factory jobs as well as 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs. By 2014, it expected production to enter full swing, turning out 75,000–100,000 vehicles per year. It expected to export more than half of these vehicles, which would have been the largest export percentage of any domestic automaker.

The automaker would have spent $175 million to retool the GM plant with the funding coming from the $528.7 million Department of Energy loan awarded to Fisker in September.

Production was delayed to enter approximately 2014-2015 due to bankruptcy and financial constraints.[7] Wanxiang acquired the plant in February 2014 after it purchased Fisker's assets in a bankruptcy auction. In October 2016, the plant was put up for sale.[8] The site was purchased by Harvey, Hanna & Associates in 2017 and was completely demolished by end of 2019.[9]

On May 19, 2020, Amazon announced it would build a fulfillment center on the site of the former Wilmington Assembly plant. The 3,700,000 sq ft (340,000 m2) fulfillment center, which is Amazon's third in the state, opened in 2021.[9][10]

Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division (1945-1965)

Plants operating under Chevrolet Assembly management prior to General Motors Assembly Division management (most established pre-1945) were located at St. Louis, Missouri; Janesville, Wisconsin; Buffalo, New York; Norwood, Ohio; Flint (#2), Michigan; Oakland, California; Tarrytown, New York; Lakewood, Georgia; Leeds, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Los Angeles (Van Nuys), California; Ypsilanti (Willow Run), Michigan; and Lordstown, Ohio. Framingham, Massachusetts is unusual in that it changed from B-O-P to Chevy management prior to becoming GMAD.

The terminology is confusing because most plants assembled more than just Chevrolet or B-O-P, and refers to the management structure only. The five brands originated vehicles from their respective "home" plants, where vehicles were assembled locally for their respective regions. Vehicles were also produced in "knock-down" kits and sent to the branch assembly locations. The "home" branches were Flint, Michigan for both Buick and Chevrolet; Oldsmobile at Lansing, Michigan; Pontiac at Pontiac, Michigan; and Cadillac at Detroit, Michigan.[11]

References

  1. ^ General Motors to increase Solstice output at Wilmington awknowledge.com, (November 3, 2005).
  2. ^ "GM Plant Closes". WDEL/Delmarva Broadcasting Company.
  3. ^ "GM Pulls Ahead U.S. Plant Closures; Reaffirms Intent to Build Future Small Car in U.S." GM Media Online. Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  4. ^ Wilson, Lauren (2009-07-28). "Last car rolls out of Del. GM plant". WPVI-TV/DT. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  5. ^ Milford, Maureen (2009-07-13). "GM closing Boxwood Road, last auto plant in Delaware". USA Today, The (Wilmington) News Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  6. ^ "Fisker Atlantic revealed". Auto Express. April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  7. ^ Nikki Gordon-Blommfield (2012-10-16). "Fisker Atlantic Plug-in Sedan Delayed Until At Least Late 2014". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  8. ^ Mordock, Jeff (October 20, 2016). "Officials see variety of uses for Fisker site". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Eichmann, Mark (May 19, 2020). "Amazon to open new fulfillment center on site of former GM plant near Wilmington". Philadelphia, PA: WHYY. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Cherry, Amy (September 21, 2021). "Boxwood bustling again as a new, massive Amazon fulfillment center opens its doors". Wilmington, DE: WDEL. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Fisher Body Company | 1929-32 | VCCA Chat". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
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