Plant closes in OKC

[Patrick]

Well, this isn't good news, but atleast not too many jobs were lost. But it oes show the healthof GM at the present time. The vehicles our plant is generating aren't selling too well. Hopefully things at GM will pickup.

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"Sliding roof plant for XUV closes
By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman

Inalfa Roof Systems Inc., which makes the sliding rear roof for the slow-selling GMC Envoy XUV, has closed its northeast Oklahoma City factory.
Inalfa opened its doors in September 2003 after spending $5 million to be near the General Motors assembly plant, where the Envoy XUV is made exclusively. Slow sales of the XUV caused Inalfa to switch roof system production back to its main factory in Auburn Hills, Mich., company spokesman Michael Smith said.

Inalfa's Oklahoma City factory employed about 35 people. Smith said GM's sales projections called for 112,000 Envoy XUVs per year. GM declined to confirm those projections.

"We've laid off basically all the employees," Smith said. "(GM) is doing 10 percent of the expected volume. As a result, we couldn't support the business there. We've transferred all the business to a small corner of one of our other facilities, which is very sad."

GM didn't make any Envoy XUVs in July and October, and the Oklahoma City plant produced just 259 in August and September, according to production data. The factory assembled more than 9,300 in the first quarter of this year.

"That is not a reflection on the plant," said Dan Flores, GM's production spokesman in Detroit.

"The product just hasn't caught on in the marketplace like we thought it would. It's more a reflection of the customers having more choices, and this is a customer-driven market when you look at incentives and product features."

Frank Sweiss, sales manager at Bob Moore Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Oklahoma City, said sales of the XUV have been slow, even with more than $6,000 in incentives for the vehicles. The 2005 Envoy XUV has a base retail price of $32,395.

Brackeen Motors in Shawnee sold out of its handful of XUVs in early summer and hasn't carried them since, sales manager Craig Brackeen said.

"I don't know what the problem is, because people who buy them like them," Brackeen said.

GMC spokeswoman Dawn Gauthier said the Envoy XUV had its best month of sales in September. She compared the XUV's slow start with that of the Chevrolet Avalanche pickup, whose sales grew faster in its second year.

"We're still pretty happy with how the XUV is doing," Gauthier said. "We expect growing sales performance as product awareness grows."

Meanwhile, GM workers in Oklahoma City are awaiting an announcement on how many layoffs will result from an upcoming production cut in January.

GM has indicated it will cut the speed of the assembly line by 25 percent, although both GM and United Auto Workers union officials said that wouldn't necessarily translate into a 25 percent reduction in the work force.

The Oklahoma City plant employs more than 2,600 people. Along with the Envoy XUV, the factory makes the GMC Envoy XL, Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and the Isuzu Ascender. "

[mranderson]

Any job loss is not good news. Even if it is a mom and pop place with geezer and geezerette running the place and suddenly decide to retire.

When this plant decided to open here, the projection was for a lot of production of the high end SUV's. Thanks to the greed from the oil companies, that tanked (pun intended). So, due to the forcast not being sunny skies, but raining on their parade, bye-bye production plant.

I also think it was in a bad location. Too far from the GM plant. I just wonder what GM will do with the plant now. Close? No. It is a prototype for other plants, and has too much invested to close it. Maybe change to another line again.

[Midtowner]

My parents just bought one of those Envoys with the sliding door. They're building a new 6000 square foot house and were going to need a vehicle that they could use to transport landscaping stuff in. I use to to shuttle clients around a lot. Very nice vehicle. Some cool features. XM, Onstar, GPS, the sliding roof, heated seats, leather... It's a nice car.

The best part was that they only paid around 32K for it. Pretty cheap considering all the features.

[Patrick]

No....GM will just get the sliding dors from the company's main plant. It won't hurt business at our GM plant.

GM as a whle is experiencing a slow down right now. Unfortunately, GM's just aren't selling well. Keeping Malibu production here wouldn't have helped any either.....they're also not selling well.