Advanced Manufacturing Timeline

Building a Better World for More Than a Century

For over four decades, Fluor has designed and built manufacturing facilities for a wide variety of market segments. From consumer products to carbon- and silicon-based materials, Fluor has the experience and expertise to execute projects for global clients both in advanced technologies and in traditional manufacturing.

Fluor delivers manufacturing projects from concept development to start-up and commissioning. Fluor's designs are fit-for-purpose, incorporating lean manufacturing concepts, and supporting sustainability goals with LEED® or equivalent certifications.

Main Fluor Timeline

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1970s

Fluor designs grassroots truck parts plant.

1979

Fluor designs and constructs two North Carolina plants for Freightliner

1979: Fluor designs and constructs two North Carolina plants for Freightliner

Fluor designed and constructed a grassroots truck parts manufacturing plant in Gastonia and a heavy-duty truck assembly facility in nearby Mount Holly for Freightliner. Fluor provided a self-perform, open-shop approach to construction. The 230,000-square-foot Gastonia parts plant installs equipment such as large presses and brake shears, while the 600,000-square-foot Mt. Holly assembly complex receives motors, axles, chassis and cab components from the parts plant.

1980s

Fluor focuses on automotive manufacturing.

1981

Mill expansion designed to produce 416 tons per day of lightweight paper

1981: Mill expansion designed to produce 416 tons per day of lightweight paper

In December 1978, Boise Cascade contracted with Fluor to carry out a major expansion of its mill in Rumford, Maine. The $260 million addition to the existing mill was the largest open-shop project ever attempted in New England. The project was 85-percent self-performed with peak manpower reaching 1,850 personnel. Despite severe weather conditions and lack of local trained craftsmen, the project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

1981

Fluor constructs a greenfield pulp and paper mill for Weyerhaeuser

1981: Fluor constructs a greenfield pulp and paper mill for Weyerhaeuser

Fluor constructed this Columbus, Mississippi greenfield pulp and paper mill in just over 26 months. The work was performed by Fluor craftsmen with a manpower peak of 2,800 employees. The mill included a light-weight coated paper machine with a 298-inch trim width and a production capacity of 480 tons per day. Also included is a state-of-the-art woodyard and material handling facilities and thermomechanical pulp process.

1982

Fluor provided design, procurement and construction services for Ajinomoto's first amino acids manufacturing facility in the U.S.

1982: Fluor provided design, procurement and construction services for Ajinomoto's first amino acids manufacturing facility in the U.S.

Fluor provided conceptual and detailed design, procurement, and construction services to Ajinomoto Company, Inc. for its first amino acids manufacturing facility in the U.S. Along with Fluor’s extensive experience in food and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, Fluor used innovative fast-track design-build methods to put the plant into operation just 24 months from the beginning of preliminary design efforts.

1982

General Electric microelectronics facility achieves production goals

1982: General Electric microelectronics facility achieves production goals

Fluor and General Electric met the initial occupancy date and achieved production goals in slightly more than 18 months from the start of design. The grassroots microelectronics facility provides General Electric with custom-designed integrated circuits. The 264,000-square-foot facility contains several modular structures dedicated to a variety of research and manufacturing functions in an ultraclean environment.

1983

Nissan light truck manufacturing facility completed

1983: Nissan light truck manufacturing facility completed

The Nissan light truck manufacturing facility has the capacity to produce 240,000 cars and trucks annually. The establishment of a total grass-roots automotive facility with over 3.4 million square feet was Nissan's initial investment in the United States. The plant was completed just over two years from groundbreaking, two months ahead of schedule.

1986

Fluor completes automotive plant ahead of schedule and below budget

1986: Fluor completes automotive plant ahead of schedule and below budget

Fluor provided design, procurement and construction management services for this 160,000 square-foot automotive component plant. Headquarters for Delco Remy's MAGNEQUENCH unit, the complex was one of the larger design/build programs that Fluor performed for a General Motors division. The Anderson, Indiana plant produced high-strength alloy magnets for automotive starters and other non-automotive equipment. Eleven months after detailed engineering began, the first of four major buildings was ready for occupancy. Fluor also provided maintenance and start-up services for the plant's utility system.

1987

Fluor manages construction on the renovation of a 1.9-million-square-foot General Motors plant

1987: Fluor manages construction on the renovation of a 1.9-million-square-foot General Motors plant

Fluor provided construction management services for the conversion and renovation of the Lakewood, Georgia assembly plant from "T" car to "B" car production for the 1988 model year. The project conversion required a major rearrangement of the body shop and general assembly areas as well as a major renovation of the paint shop. Paint shop work included the installation of a volatile organic compound abatement facility to achieve compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act.

1987

Fluor provides construction management services for General Motors in Georgia

1987: Fluor provides construction management services for General Motors in Georgia

Fluor provided construction management services for this new 1.2-million-square-foot paint shop facility. Prior to completion, General Motors moved its GM-10 modernization program for the production of the "W" car to the Doraville, Georgia facility. Fluor was then selected to provide design, construction management and support services for this project. Engineering and construction was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

1987

Fluor enters paper industry in Australia

1987: Fluor enters paper industry in Australia

International experience in paper technology gave Fluor entrée to the Australian paper industry in 1987. Fluor provided a wide range of services to Australian Newsprint Mills to modernise its Boyer pulp and paper mill in Tasmania.

1987

Fluor revamps corn wet milling complex in Chicago

1987: Fluor revamps corn wet milling complex in Chicago

Fluor revamped a 70-year-old corn wet milling complex located on the west side of Chicago. The plant is one of the world's largest refineries of liquid corn sweeteners and has a rated capacity of 180,000 bushels per day. Clean design considerations were implemented for this highly automated plant.

1987

General Motors' Wilmington plant becomes one of the most fully automated assembly plants in the world

1987: General Motors' Wilmington plant becomes one of the most fully automated assembly plants in the world

Fluor provided construction management, supplemental design, equipment vendor expediting and start-up services for General Motors' CPC assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware. The plant produced the Chevrolet Corsica and Beretta models. The project required construction of a new 330,000-square-foot base coat/clear coat modular paint shop, as well as major modifications to existing plant and production operations. The project made the facility one of the most fully automated assembly plants in the world.

1988

Burkville, Alabama manufacturing complex constructed in 30 months

1988: Burkville, Alabama manufacturing complex constructed in 30 months

Fluor provided complete design and construction services for the infrastructure, compounding operations, and chemical operations of this major grass-roots manufacturing complex for GE Plastics. The Polycarbonate Resin Manufacturing Complex was designed as one of the most fully automated plastic manufacturing plants in the world. Fluor constructed the resin compounding facility, chemical and additive operations, environmental treatment facilities and site-wide infrastructure.

1988

Bayer AG plant produces clear iron filings

1988: Bayer AG plant produces clear iron filings

Fluor provided detailed engineering, procurement, construction management, testing and start-up services for Bayer's Scrap Iron De-oiling Plant in Uerdingen, Germany. This facility, the first of its kind, de-oils and dries scrap iron to produce clean iron filings. The filings are then used in pigment manufacturing.

1990s

Fluor serves as general contractor for BMW’s first North American facility.

1990

Fluor rebuilds citrus juice plant after fire

1990: Fluor rebuilds citrus juice plant after fire

Fluor supported Procter & Gamble in setting up a provisional production facility after a fire damaged the facilities, infrastructure and power at their citrus manufacturing plant in Worms, Germany. The provisional facility was completed within 80 days, and Fluor provided engineering, procurement, project management and construction management services to rebuild the plant within seven months.

1992

Fluor rebuilds fire-damaged Taco Bell restaurant in 48 hours

1992: Fluor rebuilds fire-damaged Taco Bell restaurant in 48 hours

Fluor rebuilt a 1,987-square-foot fast food restaurant in 48 hours after it had been destroyed by fire.

1992

Fluor’s BestPLANT® process results in improvements to steady-state maintenance at Seaford facility

1992: Fluor’s BestPLANT® process results in improvements to steady-state maintenance at Seaford facility

Fluor implemented BestPLANT as part of an Asset Productivity Improvement program, resulting in enhancements to DuPont’s Seaford facility in Delaware.

1993

Production begins at silicon wafer manufacturing facility

1993: Production begins at silicon wafer manufacturing facility

A Fluor-led joint venture provided conceptual and process design, detailed engineering, procurement and construction assistance of a state-of-the-art silicon wafer manufacturing facility in Chonan, Korea. The POSCO HŰLS Company Ltd. (now MEMC Korea Co.) 150,000-square-foot facility met growing demand for silicon wafers.

1994

First BMW rolls off Greer, South Carolina assembly line

1994: First BMW rolls off Greer, South Carolina assembly line

Fluor provided design and construction management services to BMW and served as the general contractor for the company's first and only manufacturing facility in North America. The 1.1-million-square-foot produces up to 90,000 passenger vehicles annually for worldwide distribution.

1995

Fluor rebuilds Milliken carpet plant in 181 days

1995: Fluor rebuilds Milliken carpet plant in 181 days

After a devastating fire destroyed Milliken’s Live Oak dyeing and carpet finishing plant on January 31, 1995, Roger Milliken called on Fluor to assess the damage and plan for a rebuild with an aggressive six-month schedule, using upgraded technology, to meet the company’s fall schedule. Six months later, Milliken’s Live Oak plant opened for business.

1995

Fluor constructs German-based E. Merck's first major U.S. grass-roots manufacturing plant

1995: Fluor constructs German-based E. Merck's first major U.S. grass-roots manufacturing plant

Fluor provided complete design, engineering, procurement and construction services for this grass-roots facility for EM Industries, the U.S. subsidiary of E. Merck. The plant produces high-quality, titanium-coated mica pigments for use in cosmetics and plastics. Very little written documentation was available for the production processes at the German plants, so major process definition was developed by the Fluor team by visiting and examining E. Merck's existing facilities.

1997

Fluor completes General Mills manufacturing facility in South Africa

1997: Fluor completes General Mills manufacturing facility in South Africa

Fluor completed construction of Pillsbury's Johannesburg prepared dough and cake mix manufacturing facility within a year. Fluor's scope of work included design, supply, installation and commissioning of the facility.

1999

EPCM scope completed at General Motor's Blue Macaw Automotive Plant

1999: EPCM scope completed at General Motor's Blue Macaw Automotive Plant

This $600 million design-build project comprised a 400,000-square-foot-facility. Fluor implemented new and innovative lean production technologies, resulting in one of the most successful assembly facilities in the terms of total life-cycle efficiency in General Motors’ global network of plants.

2000s

Fluor looks toward electronics manufacturing in Asia.

2002

SilTerra wafer fabrication facility wins Semiconductor International Top Fab award

2002: SilTerra wafer fabrication facility wins Semiconductor International Top Fab award

Fluor provided engineering, procurement and construction management to SilTerra for a wafer fab facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The facility manufactured LOGIC and ASIC devices on 200mm wafers. SilTerra's required use of local building materials, systems and labor contributed to a strong legacy in Malaysia, with Malaysian workers trained in architecture, engineering and construction technologies.

2010s

Fluor continues to build a legacy in advanced technologies.

2010

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) integrated solar production facility opens

2010: Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) integrated solar production facility opens

Fluor provided engineering, procurement and construction management services for REC's wafers, cells and modules production complex in Singapore. The project was recognized with the Singapore Building and Construction Authority Green Mark, indicating that the buildings meet criteria for energy efficiency, water efficiency, project development and management, indoor environmental quality and environmental protection and innovation. The project represents the largest clean technology investment ever made in Singapore.

2015

Showa Denko Carbon, Inc. facility produces graphite electrodes

2015: Showa Denko Carbon, Inc. facility produces graphite electrodes

Fluor provided engineering, procurement and construction/construction management services for Showa Denko Carbon, Inc.'s premium graphite electrode manufacturing facility. The Ridgeville, South Carolina facility is the largest of its kind in the world, producing graphite electrodes for electric arc furnace steel production. The project goal was to meet increasing demands for its products as well as comply with stricter environmental regulations.

2016

National Safety Council recognizes Stora Enso project

2016: National Safety Council recognizes Stora Enso project

Fluor provided procurement, project management and construction management services for Stora Enso’s consumer board mill in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Phase 1 of the project comprises a 450,000 t/a state-of-the-art board machine, auxiliary facilities, including power plant, fresh water treatment, effluent treatment and necessary infrastructure. In 2016, the National Safety Council recognized the project with the Million Work Hours Award for exceptional safety performance.

2017

Fluor and Frito-Lay alliance continues

2017: Fluor and Frito-Lay alliance continues

Fluor and Frito-Lay began our working relationship in 1978. We provided construction services during that time and since then Fluor's scopes of work have expanded to engineering, procurement, construction and startup services. Fluor's integrated solutions approach has added to the value we bring to this important alliance with Frito-Lay.