[robk1982]

Demolition at Delphi Flint East to start this month
by Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal
Monday March 31, 2008, 8:11 PM


FLINT, Michigan -- Much of the Delphi Flint East complex is about to meet the wrecking ball, permanently knocking out what has been an industrial giant on Flint's East Side.

A Delphi official confirmed the demolition plans Monday and said the sprawling complex of buildings would be dismantled starting later this month.

Two plants still in use by Delphi within the complex -- one of which manufactures vehicle instrument clusters and one of which produces a gasoline tank part -- will remain for now, said Delphi spokesman Brad Jackson.

Other buildings on the site, including power plant and water treatment facilities, are coming down.

"It was like a bustling little city when I hired in ... (now) we're the last boneyard," said retiree Dale Mark of Genesee Township.

Delphi's presence at Flint East has been on the decline for years, dropping from about 7,000 as recently as 1996 to 3,500 in 2003 to about 1,100 today.

In 2005, the company announced it would drop its spark plug production at the complex, costing Flint East an important product with a rich history.

Since then, UAW officials have scrambled to save some jobs for Local 651, succeeding last year in signing a memorandum of understanding that has led to a new General Motors Service and Parts Operations packaging center on Davison Road.

Former workers and families of retirees will have to hurry to take a last look at the once-bustling complex next door to the new SPO plant.

Jackson said he wasn't sure how long the demolition work will take but said arrangements have been made to save historical items.

Jeff Taylor, curator of collections at Sloan Museum, said some items have already been saved, including a three-wheel bicycle used inside the plants, signs and a number of paintings.

There are already plans to save a series of tiles manufactured by Flint Faience & Tile Co. at the site. The company manufactured decorative tiles with the same machinery and materials used in making spark plugs.

The tile operations were a subsidiary of the Champion Ignition Co., predecessor of GM's AC Spark Plug Division.

Taylor said he also wants to discuss what will happen to a large outdoor clock near Dort Highway although there is no agreement yet about what will happen to it.

"Legally it belongs to the demolition company," he said. "The thing about the clock is -- it's like the old factory whistles. If you lived there, it became a part of your life."