The Plants

Plant 18 during better times in 1986.  1977 was the year the pictured logo was introduced.  Gene Phillips photo.

Dates shown below are the for when the plants were part of DR, although many went on to become Remy International or Automotive Component Group (ACG) / Delphi operated facilities.  So by default the last possible date for any plant will be 1994.  In the case of the Anderson Complex GM retained ownership of all of the land and plants.   Delphi never had any intention of staying in Anderson from day one.  We were all Dead On Arrival with the new company.

14 by 20 foot shack that was used by Perry and Frank Remy for experimentation. This was on the south west corner of the intersection.

Manufacture of automotive dynamos and magnetos.

Manufacture of automotive dynamos and magnetos.  This location has also been identified as First and Sherman or 2nd and Hendricks.   First and Sherman is on the property owned by the former Container Corporation property.  Production overlapped with the new Columbus Avenue facility until June of 1909 when the property was sold to Sefton Mfg (later Container Corp).  See our History page for more documentation on this subject.

Purchased on May 23, 1906 and construction began with the individual one story buildings that were north and south of the center section of what eventually became Plant One.  Plant One east-west section was built in 1919 with the with the five story section parallel to Columbus Ave. being completed in 1929.  Begins the manufacture of Klaxon Horns in 1924 with final assembly on the third floor. By 1948 all manufacturing had left Plant 1 for the other plants and it then was utilized for all engineering and administration until product engineering moved to Plant 18 in 1962.  After the reorganization into SBUs in 1987 product engineering and administration for the Heavy Duty SBU, Generators and Motors moved into the facility.  Some time before 1994 the General Managers office was moved to Plant 18.  After 1994 remaining AC Delco Systems activities were moved to Plant 18 and Remy International moved to other locations until it was vacated in 1998. It was torn down in 2001.

This is in Muncie on SR 32 (Kilgore Ave) at the intersection of South Perkins Street and is currently owned by the Muncie School System.  The plant was built in the 1923 time frame for the development and production of electrical lights for Harvester Tractors.  When the ARVAC building sent motor production to Plant 6 it appears the operation and Plant Number 3 shifted to that location and this was closed.  While there is nothing on this in any of the DR written histories, Everett Vinson, father of Ted, worked at this plant so we have verification it was in use by Remy. 

American Rotary Valve (Arvac) Remy Electric Company

Purchased to produce cranking motors according to the Delco-Remy History files, which also state the Guide Lamp Company of Cleveland, OH was purchased in 1928 and the equipment then set up in this building, with motors being assembled on the main floor of the building while the armatures were wound in the mezzanine.  The cranking motor product line moved to Plant 6 in 1926.  The DR history also has the tail and side lamps produced in Muncie being moved to this location in 1928.  All of this evolved into the Guide Lamp Division of GMC in 1929.  The Guide Lamp history has the business being purchased in 1923 rather than 1928 which means both cranking motors and headlamps being produced in this facility at the same time.  This building was located at the Anderson Guide facility on the west side of Anderson at 25th Street and the railroad tracks and survived until GM razed the entire complex in 2008-2009. 

This was a foundry according to the 1929 DR phone book and is believed to be the Bu-Nite Piston Company plant purchased in 1929.

A box plant located at 25th and Walnut Streets on the location of the second Plant Five, the Foundry.  It appears that the north end of this complex was torn down to make way for the Foundry in late 1927 or early 1928.  However, the south end remained and became Plant 7.  On April 3, 1929 the 150 foot by 50 foot southern most section burned.  Later, on December 13, 1932 the rest of the building caught fire and was destroyed.  These two incidents have been ignored in the official Delco-Remy histories. 

Located at 329 East 1st Street in Dayton, OH.  Manufacture by Delco-Remy of shock absorbers in the previous Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company plant.  Previously this plant had been making electrical parts in competition with Remy.  This became Delco Products Division of GMC in 1929.

Opened July 2, 1927.  Manufactured distributors and coils including phenolic thermoset molding until April 1949 when the division wide kitchen and Plants 4-6-8 cafeteria were installed when the lunch period went from one hour to 30 minutes.  Distributors,  coils and phenolic molding moved to Plant 10.  During WWII the plant manufactured military coils and distributors along with molding parts and building breakers for the Plant 10 built aircraft magnetos.

This was a shared plant with the Hyatt Bearing Division and was located along the Thames River in London.  Many DR employees were killed and injured when the plant was destroyed during the Battle of Britain by German bombers.  The operation then moved to the AC plant at Dunstable northwest of London.

Built for the production of cranking motors Plant 3 maintained this product line for its entire life.  During WWII it produced starters for military trucks.  During the Korean War the plant produced 5,000 motors to replace starters on WWII trucks enroute to Korea.  It had additions in 1951, 1959 and the mid 60's at which time it reached a capacity of 21,500 motors per day.  Remy International took over the facility in 1994 and remained until 1998.  GM tore down the plant in 2003.

Opened January 28, 1926.  Produced passenger car generators which came to it from Plant One along with heavy duty generators from 1935-1938.  During WWII manufactured servo bodies for aircraft automatic pilots. After WWII it returned to making generators.  After 1962 when the Delcotron became the standard passenger car generator Plant 4 continued with the 6 and 12 volt DC generator product line for service and for car, truck and tractor OEMs still using that technology.

Opened November 29, 1928.  This was the grey iron casting foundry that produced castings for the different product lines in Anderson including motor housings, generator end frame, iron bowl distributor bases and heavy duty generator and starter housings.  From 1980-1986 Plant 5 ran 35,000 HEI distributor gear blanks on second shift after outside suppliers could not hold the proper chemistry needed to keep the gears from failing in engine applications.  Actually the gear had to be not too hard or not to soft as the proper hardness of the gear would allow it to fail before the more expensive camshaft.  When Direct Ignition was introduced the gear was no longer needed and plant volume dropped.  The last pore of metal was made on October 4, 1987.  The plant was then torn down.

Opened November 6 and a circus in the building celebrated the event.  Was built for the production of cranking motors which came to it from the Arvac building.  Motor production went to Plant 3 in 1938 when regulators and relays became the product line which would stay in the plant until the product line was sold and the plant was torn down.  Also in 1938 heavy-duty generators came to the plant before going to Plant 8During WWII various types of voltage regulators were built along with automatic aircraft engine controllers.

Originally named the Aluminum Foundry, construction started on 9-1-1940 and was completed in just 71 days on December 10, 1940.  Floodlights were set up so work by the 300 contractors employed in the construction could continue after dark.  Originally when announced by DR this was to be numbered Plant 10.    On December 28, 1940 the first castings were produced.  Built to produce aluminum castings for the Allison V-1710 V-12 cylinder liquid cooled aircraft engine, DR provided over half of the Al castings for Allison which would have gone into over 35,000 engines.  The Allison V-1710 powered the P-38, P-39, P-40, P-51A, P-63 and A-36 aircraft during WWII.  The equipment and tooling were turned over to Allison after the war, enabling DR to move its own product lines into the plant.

In 1946 the horn product line was moved to the plant along with zinc die cast which was on the west end of the plant. It was removed when the plant began producing Al die cast parts for various products including switches, distributors and generators after the north addition was put on the plant in 1953-54.    Thermoset Molding (Bakelite) was added along with the production of various electrical automotive switches.  These included switches for the column lock ignition, turn signal, neutral start back up, headlight, dimmer, and windshield wiper.  Four lines of horns were also in the plant in the 1970's.

After switches, horns, die cast and Bakelite molding was moved out in the early 1980 the front end of Plant 7 (south end) was totally refurbished new windows, repainted ceiling and walls, along with all punch press pits filled in with concrete to make way for the arrival of the Heavy Duty Cranking Motor product line from Plant 8.

Remy International occupied it after 1994 until it moved operations out.

It was torn down in 1995.

Opened July 12, 1928.  An addition was completed in 1936 on the west end where the DR softball field had been and was called the annex.  The first products to be made in the plant were the Blossom Transmission and Ignition Lock and wiring harnesses.  The lock business only lasted until the early 1930's but was replaced by control rods and the Packard Cable Company business in 1933.  Prior to WWII brushes for generators and motors came into Plant 8, along with the machining of engine parts for Allison in Indianapolis which included pistons, supercharger impellers and aircraft magnetos.  During WWII Plant 8 produced aircraft generators.  After the war it produced 12, 24 and 32 volt heavy duty starters and generators.

This was a vacant auto assembly plant that had produced the Sheridan Automobile in 1921-1922 for WB Durant and the Interstate Automobile before that.  This was GM Project 251 and had a project allocation of $250,000.  Production began in March.

Bloomfield was the east coast Battery Plant for DR and was producing 4,000 batteries a day when on January 21, 1942 it became part of the Eastern Aircraft Division of GM which produced under license from Grumman 1060 FM-1and 4,777 FM-2 Wildcat fighters and 7,546 TBM Avengers for the US Navy.  Bloomfield produced all of the electrical and hydraulic assemblies and ammunition boxes for the aircraft.  After WWII it war replaced by the New Brunswick Battery Plant due it was viewed as not considered economically practical to convert back to battery production and it was replaced by the New Brunswick, NY Battery Plant.  During its life as a DR Battery Plant Bloomfield produced 8 million batteries.

In 1950 General Plastics purchased the facility for the process of Fluoropolymer coating.  General Plastics and the building still exist today.

DR manages the former Crosley Radio operation in Kokomo until it becomes as separate division of GM, Delco Radio.

Built to produce Aircraft magnetos and machine parts for aircraft engines during WWII.  Magnetos would be produced in the plant until 1952.  Iron bowl distributor production along with the molding department was moved to the plant from plant 2 in 1949 when the cafeteria was installed in plant 2.  In 1950 an addition was added on the east end for more capacity to manufacture of the phenolic resin thermoset distributor caps and rotors.  Flat top distributor with an Al base production began in 1954.

Another addition was added in 1964 on the front or north side of the plant.  This included both male and female locker rooms on either side of the ramp as one walked in from the front towards the office long with gear hobbing and the manufacture of cams and distributor contacts.  After distributor production shifted to the HEI in Plant 20 it continued making the distributor gears and shafts until it closed.  After the old distributor business was sold horns and switches from Plant 7 moved in.  Switches built were column dimmer, headlight, column lock ignition and one new headlight switch.

ACG operated the plant for several years after 1994.  It was razed.

This plant was acquired by DR to increase capacity for the production of Al castings for Allison and was turned over to Allison after the war.  This is not the same plant that is currently part of GM Powertrain Division, as that plant produced grey iron and steel castings during WWll.  This facility was numbered Plant 11 according to an article in January 26, 1945 issue of "The Clan".

This plant was a government owned facility that DR leased during the war and was Defense Plant Plancor number 1208.  According to 1946 War Assets Documentation it was already sold by the US Government in 1946.  The plant had a capacity of 10,200,000 lbs per year.

Originally called the  Antioch Foundry, the company's name was changed to the Morris Bean and Company in 1940.  Its assets were purchased by General Motors in November 1940, and assigned to Delco-Remy Division.  A 15,000 square foot steel and brick expansion was added to the foundry and completed after 120 days in April 1941.  The Antioch Foundry provided molds for the Allison engine castings produced in Anderson Plant 7.  The facility also provided training to Plant 7 personnel on the new casting process that Antioch had developed that allowed for the faster processing of castings in the war effort.  In April of 1940, Antioch employed 58 hourly workers and twelve salaried personnel.  Total employment was expected to rise to 100 as the plant produced molds, and did pilot work on new casting methods.  At the end of the war, Allison Division took over the management of Antioch in October 1945.  In 1946 the assets were purchased back from Allison by Morris Bean and his wife, Xarifa, who was also instrumental in the development work at the plant. It again became the Morris Bean and Company, which is still in business today making precision castings.  Morris Bean and Company moved to a new facility nearby.  Today the former Delco-Remy Antioch foundry is the theater at Antioch College.

This plant was purchased to produce heavy duty cranking motors for landing craft in WWII.  The Plant was turned back over to the Navy after the war.  The plant was razed and is now the location of an Army Reserve unit.

Built in 1952 to manufacture jet engine compressor and turbine rotors for Allison jet engines, which ceased at the end of 1954.  Concurrently in 1953 the plant began manufacturing Hydramatic automatic transmission parts to keep production going on Hydramatic due to the fact that the GM Livonia Transmission Plant had burned down.  Starting in 1953 the plant began the manufacture of distributor and other vacuums, a product line it would keep until the late 1990s.  Also during that time frame it manufactured magnetic switches, solenoids, outboard motor cranking motors and stators for flywheel generators.

In the late 1950's defense products entered the product portfolio of the plant which included transformer rectifiers for aircraft, linear solenoids for missiles, and silver-sink batteries for Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, which stayed in the plant until 1979.

The Delcotron began production in 1962 and in 1977 Plant 11 was producing 31,000 per day on four production lines.  The plant during this time period was producing 130,000 vacuums per day.  Plant 11 housed the thermoplastic molding departments for all of the Anderson plants except for horn parts which were molded in Plant 7 and later Plant 10. Also manufactured in the plant was the heated windshield power module and the transmission mounted NSBU switch.

In 1977 there were 2,100 hourly and 130 salary employees in Plant 11 resulting in an annual payroll of over $30 million.  The plant covered 534,135 square feet or 12.26 acres.

After 1994 the ACG and later Delphi continued to build generators in the plant until 2005.  GM tore it down in 2006.

The twenty seven acres of land to build the New Brunswick, NJ battery plant was purchased in April 1945.  Built to support the east coast GM assembly plants at Wilmington, DE, Tarrytown, NY and Baltimore, MD, and the east coast aftermarket, New Brunswick started producing Freedom Batteries in 1973 for Chevrolet Vegas.  The plant was purchased by JCI in 2006 which it ran until it closed the facility on March 13, 2007.  It currently still stands but is vacant. 

Built to supply batteries to the three GM assembly plants in California (Freemont, Southgate and Van Nuys) along with aftermarket production.

Olathe was the first plant to produce the maintenance free battery in 1970-1971 employing what was described as wire wound grid technology.  The product was sold exclusively to JC Penny. Located just southwest of Kansas, City, KS, this plant could supply OEM batteries to the GM Fairfax, KS plant and later on the assembly plants in Oklahoma City, OK and Wentzville, MO.  The last production battery was a heavy duty unit for Caterpillar in February of 2005.  It was razed in 2009.

This plant was built and utilized for the packaging and shipment of service parts.  In 1994 it closed and was sold and that function moved to Plant 19 after the stacker system was removed.  Currently the building is vacant after S&S Steel moved out.

Plant 16 was built as a maintenance, tooling and central stores operation.  After 1994 it continued as as ACG/Delphi tooling facility.  In 2011 ERTL Enterprises purchased Plant 16.  As of 2017, ERTL Combustion, EPMC LLC, and 3B Construction Solutions, American Playground, IPM Machining, JDW Towing, Aqua Marine, and Ellis Enterprises were all tenants in the facility.

The plant was built to house all of the DR screw machines (automatics) and header operations all in one location.  Previous to its construction these machines were spread piecemeal through the complex. 

In 1966 the plant was essentially doubled in size with an addition on the west end.  At the same time the Model Shop which at been in Plant 24 Midwest was moved in.  With the new CS line of Delcotrons that was introduced in 1986 the area right that was right behind the office was reconfigured for the production of wafer diodes for the bridges.  This included the stamping of copper strips and inline molding insulators in the process.  A "White Room" clean room was set up for the contaminant free production of the diode wafers and their solder pads.  This area remained in the plant after 1994 even though the rest of the plant was taken over by Remy International.  The diode operation remained until replaced by the button diodes.  Plant 17 was abandoned by Remy International around 2000 and then torn down by GM. 

Plant 18 was built to house the Product Engineering Function for the Division, consisting of a three story office building and a one story product test lab complex.  The three story office building design was also used by GM at Packard in Warren, OH which was a two story engineering/administrative facility and at Delco Radio as a three story and numbered Plant 10, which is now due for demolition. 

After the change to Strategic or Small Business Units (SBU) in 1987 it became location for the Battery and  Control/Ignition SBUs while at the same time product engineering for Delcotrons, Motors and Heavy-Duty went to Plant One.  In the early 90's the divisional headquarters were to moved to Plant 18 from Plant One.  Later as part of  ACG/Dephi the Generator SBU moved in as Plant One closed and at about the same time the Battery SBU moved to Indianapolis. 

After closing in 2003 ownership was turned over to the city of Anderson in 2006 along with the rest of the Anderson Complex.  Plant 18 and 22 acres was sold to Anderson based Hy-Tech Machining for $425,000 by the city of Anderson in 2008.  It published intention was to only utilize the former lab area for it machining operation and tear down the three story.  In 2008 this would have been a good strategy due to the elevated price of steel and other raw materials it could have made money in the demolition.  However, with the bubble bursting on raw material prices in the economic downturn of late 2008 and 2009 razing the three story may be cost prohibitive for Hy-Tech.  Ongoing legal and tax issues with Hy-Tech are preventing the building from being purchased and subsequently razed by a developer.

This structure was built as an OEM shipping shipping plant for all of the Anderson Plants.  It featured a an automated stacker system in the east section of the plant for storage of finished product.  When Just in Time inventory and shipping became the popular the stacker was no longer needed as product was shipped of the producing plant's dock and the stacker was removed.  When Plant 15 was vacated the service parts moved into Plant 19.  Later it was sold to AMACOR, a company recycles magnesium.  West section of the plant burned in an arson fire several years ago and was not rebuilt.

Built in 1972 with first production of the High Energy Ignition in mid 1973 for model year  The plant closed in 2007.  Plant 20 has had a new owner for several years.  Sutong Tire Resources is a Chinese tire importer and Plant 20 is a distribution center for the company.  

This was also known as the morgue and was used to store obsolete equipment.  Previously it had produced regalia for fraternal lodges before being purchased by DR.

This was also used for storage of obsolete equipment until it could be sold.  It was located on West Washington at what used to be Front Discharge Mixer.

This plant located in the basement of Plant 11 manufactured silver-zinc batteries for the US Air Force Minuteman Missile program.  Each missile had two batteries.  One initiated the firing sequence and the other powered the navigation system.  The batteries only had to power the unit for less than two minutes because after that time the missile's ballistic course was set for the 15 minute trip to the target.

First DR battery plant to exclusively produce the maintenance free battery which were built for customers like GM, Wal-Mart, K-mart, Sears, Honda and Western Auto.  It supported the two GM assembly plants at Lakewood and Doraville in the Atlanta, GA area and also provided aftermarket batteries for the region.  The plant continued as a supplier to Johnson Controls until late 2007.

The former Midwest Plant was purchased to package and ship service parts for civilian transportation during WWII.  It continued with that operation after the war and also added the Model Shop, which then went to Plant 17 in 1966.  According to a Heavy Duty Remanufactured Starting Motor and Alternator Brochure dated 1981 Plant 24 in Anderson was remodeled in 1980 for Heavy Duty Alternators and contained 60,000 square feet.  I am not certain that this remodeled Plant 24 was still in Midwest or that Plant 24 was moved into another plant in Anderson.

This was originally a National Homes plant and was purchased for the production of 5MT starting motors and later built permanent magnet gear reduction cranking motors.  It also had a powdered metal forge which when it left DR in 1994 was processing over 17 million pounds of powdered metal.  Remy International operated the facility until February 27, 1998 and moved the production back to its new South Anderson Plant.

This replaced Plant 9 in Muncie and manufactured Freedom Batteries while in existence..  It was closed and torn down in 1998.

This was the production site of the Misar, the first digital computerized engine control.  After two years Delco Electronics took over the business and moved the operation to former AC Electronics plant that DE had also taken over at Oak Creek in the Milwaukee, WI area.  This was the beginning of computerized engine control which is standard today on all vehicles and was invented by Delco-Remy. 

According to a Heavy Duty Remanufactured Starting Motor and Alternator Brochure dated 1981 Plant 28 in Laurel, MS was built specifically for the remanufacturing of Heavy Duty Motors and contained 200,000 square feet.

Produced 15SI, 17SI, CS130, CS130D and CS144 Alternators. 

Middle East Battery Company in Dammam, Saudi Arabia was assigned this number which started production on 12-29-1997 which is post DR.  This may have replaced a number for a plant that was never built.

The El Paso Warehouse had no plant number associated with and was a leased facility of 80,000 square feet.  Parts coming in and out of Mexico came through this location due to customs regulations. 

This was built to produce many of the sensors and solenoids that DR was beginning to come out with at this time.  Included in this product line would be ABS, transmission and knock sensors along with transmission solenoids.  Plant 35 is still operating as a Delphi facility.

Built to produce the Maintenance-Free Battery for the European market.

The old Pepsi Plant on the west side of Anderson was the launch center until it moved back to Plant 18.

This was a leased facility that worked on advanced lead acid, lithium polymer, nickel-zinc battery work and advanced rotating machines.  Work on batter technology and drive motor systems began in 1990 at this location on the GM Impact which evolved into the GM EV1 in 1996 after this portion of Delco-Remy Division had become part of AC Delco Systems.

Battery Plant

This battery plant was the red haired step child of the Division.  It does not show up in the official histories or organization charts of the mid 70's of DR but in the the early 90's it was being claimed as a Division Battery Plant in marketing material being distributed to customers.  It was actually inside the GM of Canada complex at Oshawa and may have originally been operated by that group and management responsibility transferred to DR.  In the 2000's there were Delphi persons assigned to the plant.

This was a leased facility on Dickey Road (400 South) on the south side of Anderson.  The 4,000 square feet of office space may have been utilized by the Magnequench Group as they awaited the construction of Plant 46.

This was the Magnequench plant that produced rare earth neodymium magnets.  The business is now owned by NEO Material Technologies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada but its plants are in China and Thailand. 
Home Design Products now molds plastic chairs and other items in the plant.

Delco International Battery Co. in Shanghai, China was assigned this number in 1998 which is post DR. 

Plant numbers unmatched to built plants, engineering centers, joint ventures or prospective plants that were never constructed.

Plants 57 and 58 were next to each other. 

Delkor Battery Company

This leased facility contained almost 25,000 square feet of offices and labs devoted to Lithium Polymer battery research as the DR half of a joint venture with Valence Technology which at that time was in San Jose, CA.  In 1995 both DR and Valance moved to an empty building in Henderson, NV for the pooling of resources in battery development.  After the Lithium Polymer project moved to Nevada  NiMH battery development was moved in.  Plant 77 was in the Crosspoint Business Park.