General Motors made a $1.4 billion investment in the Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas, where GM builds all of the company’s full-size SUVs. The plant gained a new body shop, paint shop, general assembly upgrades, retooling, and new equipment. Barton Malow awarded a $16 million electrical contract to Motor City Electric Co. and our Fort Worth-based strategic partner, Lone Star Electric (LSE), for the new body shop covering more than 1,055,000 square feet.

Scope of Work

First, Motor City Electric Utilities Co. (MCEU) installed a new 138kV design-build utility substation to replace the existing substation. This project worked in conjunction with Oncro, the local utility company. MCE installed a new 15kV switch house to re-feed all the current power required for the assembly plant with 7,000 linear feet of trestle-mounted cable and 30,000 linear feet of 750mcm interlock armored cable run from the new switch house to each existing and new substation.

A significant coordination effort ensured that the Arlington plant – one of GM’s most profitable – remained operational during all power cutovers from the existing 138kV substation to the new substation. Concurrently, most plant support facilities (fluid fill, scrap, chemical storage, tank farms, multiple pumping stations, and vehicle repair) moved position and re-fed cable to allow room for the new body shop addition. The MCE engineering staff assisted in the design coordination and layout drawings for all the relocated GM support facilities.

MCE also installed all necessary power, lighting, bus duct, fire alarm, and communication systems typically required for the body shop. MCE and Motor City Electric Technologies (MCET) installed lighting, security entrances, and security camera systems for two new parking lots to accommodate the increased number of GM employees working in the expanded plant.

The current work plan calls for a constant crew of 40 installers from LSE with a peak possibility of 75. The project finished early in 2018.