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Our team members at Wentzville Assembly recently celebrated the launch of the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon and previewed some exciting new upgrades for off-road capabilities, enhanced performance and new trim packages with more cargo bed functionality. Profiling these updates allowed us to also take the opportunity to recognize the growth and changes a career at GM has offered many of our employees.
Our employees have been preparing for the vehicle updates in one way or another over the last few years. In 2019, we invested $1.5 billion into the plant to upgrade the facility’s body and paint shops. The launch of new vehicles not only represents the re-envisioning of the products themselves, but also how our teams and crew work together. At this plant, in operation since 1983, training and upskilling the workforce has been a regular occurrence and, in that time, many employees have built a full life while building quality vehicles.1
“People here at the plant take great pride in what we produce. These vehicles go across the world and are in high demand,” said Lamar Rucker, plant executive director. “Our team has also established a quality of life while making a quality vehicle.”
Work-life balance
Erick Sanchez has been part of the GM family for 19 years and is currently the general assembly launch manager, a role that helps the plant prepare to build a new or redesigned product. While a version of the Canyon and Colorado have been produced in Wentzville since 2014, bringing an updated model to life requires coordination across teams throughout the assembly plant.
Erick has helped make that work possible by helping to upskill current employees. For example, the new trucks will utilize GM’s new Vehicle Intelligence Platform, a kind of nervous system coordinating systems, and E-boost technology, which optimizes braking capacity. These new adaptations required a reconfiguring of the assembly to accommodate programming while on the line.
“I find the work rewarding, challenging, and dynamic. Being on the launch team, the environment is always changing which requires creativity and resilience,” Erick said. “I love working in a cross-functional team environment and making a long-term impact to the production floor operations and team members.”
Erick lives in a nearby town with his wife and three children. His family has grown while his career at GM has expanded. And, just as his role requires changing to meet new challenges, Erick likes to challenge his family by finding new and interesting hiking and biking trails around the suburban St. Louis region.
“Work-life balance is important to me. I invest most of my free time with my family playing sports, attending car shows and discovering new places to bike and hike. I love spending time with family and friends playing games during the weekend.”
As Erick continues his career with GM, he is looking forward to being more engaged with the changeover to our all-electric future and his role in contributing to the next generation of these vehicles and the evolution of the industry, as well.
Maintaining quality at work and home
Pamela Mason also knows what change looks like. As paint shop team leader at Wenztville Assembly and with an almost 20-year career at GM, Pamela has watched the paint shop evolve since the 2019 investment. To prepare for the new production models, the paint shop underwent extensive renovations to install new equipment, conveyers, controls and tooling.
“We consider quality at each step of the process and making sure our vehicles are the best-looking they can be when the customer first sees them,” stated Pamela. “I appreciate the first-hand opportunity to build something that our customers love.”
The updates to the paint shop required educating both herself and her team on the new equipment, but education is an area where Pamela excels. Thanks in part to GM’s educational assistance, Pamela has pursued an aviation mechanic’s license in her free time and even learned a new foreign language. While those are impressive credentials to earn, Pamela is most proud of being a grandmother. To her, teaching her granddaughter skills like cooking, gardening and how to treat others helps to educate her about the potential quality of life.
“Whether it is at work or at home, I value my time and the time it takes to make something good,” Pamela explained. “I like to invest my time in education and technologies that will create a more positive and sustainable change.”
Committed to community
GM has been an active part of the Wentzville community for over 35 years. We’re proud to see the lives our employees have built, from sharing moments with coworkers to cheering on their high school sports teams. With over 4000 employees, that’s a lot of moments to share and celebrate.
Both Erick and Pamela have been at Wentzville Assembly long enough to recall when the first Chevrolet Colorado was built at the plant in 2014. The Colorado and GMC Canyon have both undergone several model changes since that time and with each evolution, the employees of Wentzville adapt to those updates. We look forward to celebrating those future milestones for both our employees and our community.