V1951-GM2

Open House 1954

Welcome to Our Plant

It gives all of us a great deal of pleasure to welcome you to this plant – a General Motors plant producing both automobiles and jet airplanes.

We're proud of our work here, proud of our employees and proud of our plant. The main plant consists of some 43 acres. Being completely air conditioned, work here in the heat of the summer is made a great deal more pleasant than it otherwise would be.

As a "dual purpose" plant, we can produce in one of three ways. We are now turning out both airplanes and automobiles. If this country should need more airplanes immediately, we then could swing into all out production of planes. If the international situation relaxes and peace becomes a reality then we can devote ourselves to full scale peacetime production of automobiles. Thus, this plant is leading the way in an experiment in industrial mobilization which not only should permit much more rapid production of defense goods as needed but also provide them at less cost to the taxpayers.

This plant plays an important part in the General Motors family. It is a big plant currently with more than 10,000 employees. The employees contribute a great deal to the Greater Kansas City community life and are an important part of it.

Again let me express to you a welcome from all of us. We sincerely hope you will enjoy your visit.

Sincerely,

Ed Rollert Manager

Our employment grew during last year to more than 10,000 employees. They were paid more than $49,000,000 in wages-which means a payroll of more than four million dollars a month going into this area.

In addition, our employees are offered a retirement program, low-cost sickness, life, and hospitalization insurance, excellent working conditions, and a large, modern cafeteria serving snacks or meals at reasonable prices.

Teamwork builds airplanes, autos

General Motors teams up with the Air Force and with subcontractors to manufacture Republic-designed F-84F Thunderstreak fighter-bombers. All three contribute toward successful operation of the aircraft program. Last year more than 3,000 aircraft and automotive subcontractors and suppliers furnished parts, equipment, supplies or services to us. These outside firms received more than $95,000,000 from this plant last year.

More than 1,000,000 million automobiles have been built at this plant and shipped to the surrounding 22 state area. Most of the cars are shipped in the area between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River and the Rockies.

This modern plant was built early in World War II for the production of B-25 bombers. General Motors took over the plant in 1945 after North American Aviation moved out. The first cars were produced here in mid-1946. In 1952 it was announced this plant would become a dual purpose plant and turn out both airplanes and automobiles. The first Republic-designed F-84F Thunderstreak fighter-bomber to be manufactured here was test flown in July, 1953.

How Airplanes and Automobiles are Built in the same Plant

The photographs on these pages portray some of the highlights in building airplanes and automobiles. The layout in this dual purpose plant is planned so that automotive and aircraft areas are scientifically spread throughout the plant to allow efficient expansion of either group if and when that is necessary. Above is a "body in white" receiving expert welding which does so much to provide a solid, silent body.

On the "hard" trim line, a windshield goes into a body. It is on this line what we call the "hard trim" is installed. Here also is added the chrome pieces, glass, door handles and other similar mechanisms. Balance of trim-the interior "soft trim"-is one of the last things added. This assures spotlessly clean trim in cars for shipment to customers. Trim department must keep track of many hundreds of different trim combinations.

Modern jet aircraft require that pieces which fit together must be held to very close tolerances-in some cases to only a thousandth of an inch. That's less than the thickness of a human hair. Here in our machine shop all the involved and complicated machining on wing parts is accomplished by skilled employees using many hundreds of special machines. Shown below, two employees mill wing spars.

Aircraft Sheet Metal Department employees fabricate much of the outer surface of the aircraft's fuselage, all of its wings, and some of the structural parts. From small to giant-sized presses stamp out the parts needed. Parts built in this department range from tiny clips to huge wing surface sections. Here the aircraft metal is trimmed to size, pressed to right form, welded, riveted, and in some cases built up into subassemblies.

The Scheduling Department once figured out it would be possible to build more than a million cars here and have no two of them exactly alike. One of the secrets of successful operation here is scientific scheduling of assemblies each of which must have its right parts at the right point at the right moment. Shown is a chassis as it moves toward completion so it will be at body drop point at same moment as is its correct body.

The work of two departments-Machine Shop and Sheet Metal-come together in the Wing Assembly Department where the sturdy Thunderstreak wings are assembled. Special fixtures-such as the "Brooklyn Bridge"-help pursuit for perfection in construction of wings which will sear through air at speeds faster than sound. In photo above, employees carefully rivet aluminum "skin" onto strong, internal parts of wing called wing structure.

Right body at right point at right moment is lowered onto right chassis at Body Drop. Skillful employees here can place up to 65 bodies an hour. At end of this line, car will be started for first time. All are built to customer's orders, resulting in what is almost custom built cars. Power hoist which lowers body onto chassis takes place of men's muscles and makes job easier. And so aircraft and automobiles neared completion and delivery to customers, new automobiles to satisfy partially the demand for the best in automotive transportation, and sleek and swift jet fighters to help keep this country free and strong. Thus operates the dual purpose program at this General Motors plant which helps keep our domestic economy rolling while also aiding the country's defense.

B.O.P. Cafeteria seats more than 900 at a time, maintains five serving lines and offers a variety of wholesome foods at reasonable prices. Cafeteria employs more than 100 persons, makes 6,000 servings each day.

General Motors, Air Force team up to produce best possible airplanes at least possible cost. All 'Streaks must pass exhaustive tests before acceptance. Thunderstreak pictured has protective wire covering over nose.

Hundreds of employees have learned new skills in company sponsored training programs. These groups "team while they learn."

1953 Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, F84F

Play Amidst Work

The company sponsored picnics and encouraged such things a bowling teams. Bowling was big in Detroit, a good indoor sport during winter weather. We had a terrific bowling league at a place in down town KC MO in the hill above the Municipal airport. The location had known better times but great for our needs. This gave all of us a chance to become better acquainted. I’m sure the others enjoyed this as I did. Bob Wagoner whom I first met in Detroit was and excellent bowler, his expressions changing from serious to exuberant smile with the statement “shaky deal” to cover almost any situation. Though he grew up in Detroit he took a fancy to the KC area and married a local girl. We were pleased to be invited to the wedding along with Jay and Stella Groff.

Jay and I become well acquainted during the latter part of our stay in Detroit when living in the same hotel from which we could walk out and catch the street car to work. In the evenings we’d often stop at the hotel cocktail lounge before going to bed. There we observed a lady making a fortune in tips. She was the primary cocktail waitress, constantly gliding about from table to table while music played and people talked. She was very attractive in figure and face, always dressed in a lovely flowing gown, always radiating class. She was always friendly – but never chummy or intimate – always a bit aloof. We observed she was a master at working the clientele. We wondered how much she was making in tips each night. She never seemed to socialize with any one – but kept constantly in motion raking in the tips. One day I saw her arrive driving a big Packard then in competition with Cadillac as the favored top of the line car.

Many from our outfit gathered in this lounge on New Years Eve, always gathering in song. One of the fellows had an exceptionally good voice having worked for the Starlight Theater the prior summer singing Baritone. Everyone insisted that we stayed up to sing Happy New Year with those from the west coast.

Going out of Business Plan: Once it was known the F-84F would not be needed for the Korean war the AF had GM ship our mass production tooling to Republic Aircraft for follow on peace time production and GM went back to building cars and out of the aircraft building business. The tooling was later sent to NATO forces where later versions of the F84F were built in Europe. Gus Berndroth called me in and asked me to plan layoffs for each of the engineering departments. I gathered information and made a plan of gradual reduction over a period of some three months. Gus called all managers into his office, the first time to announce the intention of making a plan, and later for me to I lay out the plan based on information I had obtained from them. The plan was well accepted and implemented – nobody was actually laid off, everyone was absorbed back into the huge GM organization. Later in CA I heard from one of the fellows who was there to the end, he said they implemented the plan just as I had laid it out, wanting me to know all went well.

Offer for Transfer to South Gate CA with their BOP Division

Not long after the plan to close down was completed, I was offered a chance to be transferred to the South Gate CA Buick-Olds-Pontiac Assembly plant. My gut feel was I’d have a better chance for work in CA than I’d have locally. I decided to take them up on the offer.

I was checked out by the same head of personnel, still the nice looking personable fellow that hired me. He had the papers for my transfer to GM South Gate in his hand when he looked up and said, I remember hiring you – then glanced down at my personnel folder in his hand & laid it out for a closer look. He looked up and said, you have received more pay increased than anyone else on this program. Then smiled as we shook hands and I departed.

After arriving in South Gate CA I received a letter from Gus Berndroth saying that I was supposed to be kept on at the KC plant, but was gone before Jack Holms knew about it.

I had been treated very well in by GM in KC & Detroit – I’d learned an enormous amount about so many things, all very different than prior experiences. I’d learned to find my way about in this new industrial world, previously unknown to me.

The pending experience at the BOP assembly plant in South Gate would reveal a totally different GM than I’d known before -- in later years I valued the South Gate experience, though I didn’t stay long..

I was working night shift at the South Gate BOP assembly plant when I got together with Don & Vera Calkins – and subsequently planned the move to North American Aviation, one of the best moves I ever made.