Saturn Corp. will spend approximately $48 million to update and expand its manufacturing operations in Spring Hill to accommodate 1993 production.
The money will be spent on a new carbon absorption system for emission control of paint operations, an expanded parts warehouse and plant rearrangement.The General Motors' subsidiary said the emissions control system would reduce Saturn's air emissions by one-third and bring it into compliance with all current and anticipated state and federal laws for paint operations.
About $13 million will be spent on facilities and production equipment to accommodate Saturn's new family of wagons and 1993 coupes and sedans.
Another $10 million will expand the parts warehouse from the current 100,000 square feet to 310,000 square feet.
Saturn was to complete its current production Friday and will have built approximately 200,000 vehicles during the model year.
The plant will shut down all production operations from July 20 through July 31 for the annual changeover to 1993 model production that will begin Aug. 3.
Saturn, GM's answer to high-quality imports from Japan, has emerged as one of the notable success stories in the U.S. auto industry.
Its cars have won acclaim for dependability by such raters as Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates. The manufacturer has been hard-pressed to meet demand and recently began exporting for the first time, to a distributor in Taiwan.