Excitement at Ingersoll's Cami
Exciting news for Ingersoll, is exciting news for everyone in Oxford County and anywhere in southwestern Ontario.
The fact that Ingersoll's Cami plant could be receiving a massive expansion with the addition of a hybrid vehicle on its assembly line, there is an automatic (standard also) trickle-down to real estate, grocery stores, moving companies, movie theatres, and ice cream shops.
Here is a London Free Press story discussing some of the timelines and factors in a Cami upgrade.

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Hybrids fuel expansion talk

Norman De Bono, The London Free Press

Tuesday, August 21, 2012 9:47:09 EDT AM

INGERSOLL - Cami Automotive is driving toward a possible plant expansion and brand-new vehicles in 2015.

The Ingersoll automaker is likely to add a hybrid version of its Equinox and Terrain crossover utility vehicles and work has already begun to lay the groundwork for an expansion, likely to be announced next spring, say sources close to GM Canada.

"There is a new vehicle planned for Cami, and it may be a hybrid," one source told The Free Press.

It's too early to say if the new vehicle would significantly boost production or the number of workers. Hybrids have been low-volume sellers so far and the plant is now at full capacity, with about 2,800 employees.

A recent move by GM to get municipal site-plan approval for work at the plant may be a sign of future growth, said Bill Mates, Ingersoll's director of economic development.

"If they are going to all this trouble, it may be," he said. "We are all excited here about the possibility of something happening."

That work may centre around a new, expanded paint and weld facility, said the source.

Expansion isn't a surprise to industry analysts, who say North American vehicle sales will hit about 15 million next year, near pre-recession levels, and all automakers are gearing up to meet demand.

"It is highly likely they will get a variation of a hybrid, the chance of a (Cami) expansion is pretty high," said Kim Korth, president of IRN Inc. in Michigan, which does industry forecasting.

"They will be guarded about this now, because they are in talks with (the Canadian Auto Workers on a new contract), but Cami is making a very popular product."

While the CAW is in talks with GM on a new collective agreement, Cami is delayed and doesn't come up for bargaining until next year.

CAW employees at Cami have also heard rumbles of an expansion and new vehicle, said Bob Scorgie, a CAW committee member at the plant.

"It is hard to know what is true and what is not - there is a lot of stuff being said," he noted.

"I am sure we are significant players in GM. I hope we get a fair contract for everybody and that there is a plant expansion."

Site-Plan Approval

As for the site-plan approval, the automaker is doing the work at the plant to be ready, in case new product comes along, said Faye Roberts, GM Canada's communications director.

"We have done some exploratory work, to make sure we can compete when future allocation decisions are made. But there is no news at this stage," she said.

The work includes taking soil samples, rerouting of power, and waste-water treatment, she added.

Cami may not get a full hybrid, but "a form of hybrid technology" using partial electric and gasoline, added Korth.

It would be the Canadian auto industry's second hybrid, with Toyota planning to launch a Lexus hybrid sport-utility vehicle at its Cambridge plant.

Although GM's Terrain and Equinox are also to be built in Spring Hill Tenn., at GM's former Saturn plant, Korth said she doesn't see Ingersoll losing production to south of the border since "there is more than enough demand to support those plants."

E-mail norman.debono@sunmedia.ca, or follow NormatLFPress on Twitter.