The Tonawanda and Lockport plants are both vital pieces of the Buffalo Niagara region’s manufacturing base, and they rely on new investment to stay viable as older products are phased out.

Both plants have proven their staying power in the face of adversity. The Tonawanda engine plant, which has 1,700 employees, survived GM’s plant cut list in 2009, when the auto industry was in turmoil. The Lockport plant, which has 1,400 employees, was among the few Delphi sites GM took back from the auto parts supplier it had spun off, and had faced uncertainty about its own future.

The Tonawanda plant produces engines for GM trucks, SUVs and cars. Its Generation V engines, which go into vehicles including full-size trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado and SUVs like the Yukon, Suburban and Escalade, are a hit for the Tonawanda plant. To keep up with demand, that engine line runs three shifts a day and two out of three shifts on Saturdays, “and the machining operations are basically running 24/7,” Finch said.

Finch said he did not yet have much information from the automaker about the new engine line, but said it would be the new version of the Generation V engine family.

Preparations related to the new investment are under way, Finch said.