Holden looted by plant workers, $2.5M in parts stolen

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/05/holden-looted-by-plant-workers-2-5m-in-parts-stolen/

Though it may sound more like a Johnny Cash song, new reports say employees at General Motors' Holden plant in Elizabeth, Australia, have been stealing auto parts. Lots of 'em.

Police have been investigating the crime spree since January and say engines and transmissions worth more than $2.5 million have been stolen from the plant. The engines, meant to power VE Commodores (formerly known as the Pontiac G8 in the States) sell for $10,000 each through Holden dealers. The stolen engines, however, were going for as little as $1,500 on the black market, and some of the ill-gotten parts have been traced to off-road racing in other parts of Australia.

The key factor that allowed the thieves to go undetected popped up pretty soon after the first stolen engine was found by police. Sources say factory officials had no idea employees were taking the hardware and were unaware of the scale until notified by police. Apparently there was "no effective tracking system" of engines and transmissions at the plant and therefore very little way to check where incoming inventory ended up. Parts were checked in, but there was apparently no way to know what happened to them after that.

GM Holden corporate affairs manager Sean Poppitt tells reporters, "It is an ongoing investigation and we are not at liberty to discuss any details of it as yet."
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Wow who would've thought the Aussie's were such criminals.
Oh yeah I forgot it was originally a penal colony.
But what does this have to do with a Johnny Cash song is what I want to know?

 

But what does this have to do with a Johnny Cash song is what I want to know?
__________________
one piece at a time !
BUT THOSE ENGINES WOULD NEED A PRETTY BIG LUNCHBOX!~

 

"But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home". I suppose in Australia that would be a caravan. A really big one from the sounds of it.

 

Quote....
Apparently there was "no effective tracking system"


How stupid could you be, or is stupid the reason GM almost went T**S up?


Hmmmm.... we made "X" amount of cars and used "3xX" amount of engines..... and it was the police who figured it out!?


........On a Clear Day, You Can See General Motors...........

 

Handy Andy, here's a link to "one piece at a time" on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHniL8MyMM&feature=fvwrel

I always liked that song...

 

Where I worked they knew if one bolt was missing from the assembly lines. Someone was asleep on the job over there but they are not at liberty to say who. No line inspectors, no shipping clerks, no dispatchers, no security guards, no fences ?

 

When I worked for Penske Logistics, part of an operation tracking parts from 600 vendors in 12 states going to 55 GM assembly plants and engine plants, GM knew, we knew, and the vendors knew exactly where every part was at every moment.

The biggest reason was the vendor didn't get paid for the part until it was installed on a car.
The second reason was, as the logistics provider, if we didn't track and deliver the parts as GM designated and shut down a plant, the penalty was simple: If they were making 45 $20,000 cars per hour, we bought all the cars the plant didn't make. Didn't happen very often, like never.

 

But Jonny Cash had a very big Lunch Box,lol

 

Something about that song that has always puzzled me is what's an "ace alpha kit ?" Or whatever sounds like that!
These are things that keep me awake at nights.

 

That was actually Johnny Cash "southernizing" the word adapter.

Here's the excerpt from the lyrics.

The transmission was a '53 and the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an adapter kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song

 

its a big country and its alotta engines, gess some people had their eyes open while others were closed but you haffta wonder how high up the tree they were shut. thats alotta $$$$$$$$$$$$ out the gate with no return

 

That had to be a very co-ordinated ring, going up the chain of command, to get 350 engine/trans combo's out the door, without being noticed!!
Not like they fit in your pocket!
Truckloads being delivered elsewhere, seems more believeable.
Hope we hear more about this.

 

Be a real disappointment to have the police show up and seize your vehicle because that engine you bought on line turns out to be stolen........too often I take for granted that anything I buy off CL, Kjj, sleezebay, etc is legit.

 

Not to get off track but years ago my dad had a crew working on the naval base. They also had other crews from diffrent companies also working but every morning and evening the MP would inspect what ever they carried in and out. They had a couple guys that would roll a wheelbarrow out everyday. The MP would look in it to make sure they wasn't stealing anything. After 3 or 4 days of various crews missing wheelbarrows they figured out they were stealing the wheelbarrows.