How GM avoided its own disaster after Japanese quake
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/etc/" rel="tag">Etc.</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/japan/" rel="tag">Japan</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/plants-manufacturing/" rel="tag">Plants/Manufacturing</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/gm/" rel="tag">GM</a></p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/business/global/13auto.html?_r=3&pagewant ed=1&partner=rss&emc=rss" ><img alt="GM Ren Cen" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/05/gm-ren-center-630.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 4px 0px;" /></a><br />
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While <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/toyota">Toyota</a> has been one of the automakers hardest hit by the tragic Japanese <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/earthquake">earthquake</a>, tsunami and nuclear disasters in March of this year, nearly every auto company on the planet felt its impact. Thanks to a global, tight-laced network of interconnected suppliers, manufacturers were left scrambling to make up gaps in the parts chain when Japan's manufacturing mechanism ground to a halt. As it turns out, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/gm">General Motors</a> took on the challenge of making sure as many of its plants stayed operational as possible by employing a team of hundreds of employees that worked around the clock.<br />
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Officially termed "Project J," the workers came up with creative solutions to manage the supply interruptions. As a result, GM says that its bottom line for 2011 won't be significantly impacted by the Japanese earthquake.<br />
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In some cases, that meant shifting parts from low-volume plants like the Shreveport, Louisiana facility responsible for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/colorado">Chevrolet Colorado</a> and the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/canyon">GMC Canyon</a> to other facilities. GM stressed that it didn't want to simply walk away from its old suppliers in their darkest days, so the automaker sent a team to Japan to learn how it could help get key factories back up and running. That included sourcing hydrogen peroxide and steel from Korea from two different companies.<br />
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The whole effort is incredibly impressive and worth a read if you've got the time. Check it out over at <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/business/global/13auto.html?pagewanted=1& _r=4&partner=rss&emc=rss" ><em>The New York Times</em></a>.<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/how-gm-avoided-its-own-disaster-after-japanese-quake/">How GM avoided its own disaster after Japanese quake</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Fri, 13 May 2011 18:58:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/how-gm-avoided-its-own-disaster-after-japanese-quake/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19940091/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/how-gm-avoided-its-own-disaster-after-japanese-quake/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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