Global Operations

North America

Canada

Windsor Transmission
Canada

 

Products:

4T45-E transmissions for medium to small front-wheel drive automobiles. Major production operations include metal machining and forming operations, subassembly, final assembly and testing.

Plant Size (sq. ft.)

1.25 million

2007 CY Production

784,806 units

Union Local:

CAW 1973

Environmental Mgmt. Systems:

On May 4, 2000, Windsor Transmission Plant was the first General Motors of Canada facility to receive ISO 14001 certification. The plant successfully achieved re-certification to the latest ISO standard (14001-2004) in September 2005.

Reduction:

The Windsor Transmission Plant operates an innovative biological/ultra-filtration membrane process to treat the manufacturing process wastewater. In 2000, plant personnel worked with the General Motors Worldwide Facilities Group to retrofit the process with an aerobic digester to reduce the amount of waste biomass generated for offsite disposal.

The wastewater treatment plant operators assisted with the implementation making recommendations for further improvements. In November 2000, a Biological Digester was installed and the plant exceeded its expectations by reducing the waste biomass by 80 per cent.

Next, the plant implemented an employee suggestion to reduce the amount of oily water waste. Traditionally, the thick oil/water mixture generated by the wastewater treatment plant was sent offsite for disposal. Installation of a piping system to transfer the oil/water mixture to the Oil Treatment Processing Tanks allowed the oil to be recovered instead of sent offsite for disposal.

Each year the Transmission Plant sets and achieves Waste Reduction and Energy Reductions Objectives and Targets.

On another note, Windsor Transmission established a standard practice that non-returnable dunnage from assembly room parts packaging is shipped back to vendor, thus greatly reducing our landfill totals.

Replacement:

Windsor Transmission replaced its non-aqueous parts washers with aqueous washers that use a recycled parts washer solvent. Since 2003, all the parts washers throughout the plant are all aqueous based, except for one parts washer, with that solvent being recycled.

Recycling:

Recycled materials in 2007:

  • 12,058 tonnes of scrap metal (aluminum, iron, machinery, equipment, tools and steel)
  • 35.37 tonnes of plastic dunnage
  • 126.69 tonnes of wood pallets
  • 40.26 tonnes of paper
  • 23.61 tonnes of cardboard
  • 12.1 tonnes of batteries (lead acid, automotive, mixed and Ni/Cad)
  • 1 tonne of lights (fluorescent bulbs/tubes)
  • 330 tonnes of oil was sold off-site for recycling/reuse.
  • 11.3 tonnes of used barrels

In 2007, the plant successfully started a program to divert waste Air filters and cartridge filters from Landfill disposal to recycling and Energy from Waste. In 2005 the plant finalized a recycling program for used rolled filter media form central coolant systems. The rolled media was converted from a fibre-based to a plastic-based material, which has allowed 35 tonnes of this material to be recycled instead of going to a landfill.

In addition, the Windsor Transmission Plant has successful recycling programs in place to recycle all used lamps and bulbs, all batteries, and all computer monitors.

Overall, the Windsor Transmission Plant recycled 92 per cent of the waste generated.