[dutch husky]

I was at the (Michigan) West Coast Chamber of Commerce breakfast this morning and the keynote speaker was Lt. Governor Brian Calley, who spoke about Michigan's strong position in technologies of the future, from batteries (referencing LG Chem of course), to fuel cells (referencing the recent deal between GM & Honda), and autonomous vehicles (referencing the American Center for Mobility, which was recently built at the former Willow Run complex in SE Michigan, former home of the B-24 Liberator, Kaiser-Frazer autos, Fisher Body, GM Powertrain, etc. ...https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/22/m...n-autonomous-car-test-facility-breaks-ground/). He also mentioned that SE Michigan has the highest concentration of IT professionals outside of Silicon Valley...not sure if he meant in the US, or world-wide, but either way that's impressive if true.

The sponsor of this particular breakfast event was none other than LG Chem, and they had 10 or so attendees there, including the president of LG Chem Michigan, Nick Kassanos, who has been in the position for a mere 18 months. He also spoke briefly. He mentioned in his short speech that the plant is currently operating with about 500 full time employees, across all three shifts, five days a week, supplying battery cells for the Volt and cells/packs for the Pacifica Hybrid. He mentioned the proposed expansion they will be constructing later this year for battery pack assembly as well, but wouldn't say specifically which vehicle it was for. Afterward I had a chance to go over and introduce myself to him and shake his hand. Really nice, approachable guy. As were his team. I was, of course, hoping to get some nuggets of info about Bolt battery production shifting from S. Korea, or other deals in the works for the plant, but not so lucky. He was pleased to hear of my enthusiasm for my Volt.

I asked one of his staff (who has owned a Volt for 3 years, btw), with a nudge and a wink, about maybe getting a tour for a group of Volt owners, but he, as expected, poured cold water on that idea...

 

[DonC]

Thanks for the report. Too bad they were all the "corporate silent" types! But nice try.

 

[Raymondjram]

Thanks for the report. Too bad they were all the "corporate silent" types! But nice try.

Next time, ask the engineers. We are more open to show off what we have done without revealing corporate or trade secrets, and we want more customers to see so they promote our products ( and we sell more). When I worked as a Systems Engineer (later Systems Supervisor), the managers always chose me to give visitor and student tours of our facilities.

 

[dutch husky]

Next time, ask the engineers. We are more open to show off what we have done without revealing corporate or trade secrets, and we want more customers to see so they promote our products ( and we sell more). When I worked as a Systems Engineer (later Systems Supervisor), the managers always chose me to give visitor and student tours of our facilities.

The team of people he had with him, I think for the most part, were the engineers and technical people, not suits. I think they would have loved to show off their stuff...if they had the freedom to do so.