DMax Ltd.
Company typeJoint venture
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Headquarters
Dayton, Ohio
,
United States
Area served
United States
ProductsDiesel engines
OwnersGeneral Motors
Websitedmaxengines.com

DMAX is an American manufacturer of the Duramax V8 diesel engines for trucks, based in Dayton, Ohio. Engine production began in Moraine, Ohio in 2000.

History

DMAX originally was announced in 1997[1] as a 60-40 joint venture[2] between and operated by General Motors and Isuzu. Diesel engine production started in July 2000.[3] The company's Duramax V8 engine has been extremely successful for GM, raising that company's diesel pickup market share to 30% in 2002, up from approximately 5% in 1999.[4]

The DMAX plant was built in Moraine on a land grant site adjacent to a GM plant that made the 6.2/6.5 L Diesel V8 designed by Detroit Diesel. Production of that engine began in 1982. The DMAX Moraine plant was completed in 1999,[5] next to Moraine Assembly, which shut down in 2008.[6][7] The DMAX Moraine plant added 80 workers in 2005.[8]

The plant is planning to increase production from 580 engines a day, in 2017, to 700 engines a day.[9] To further expand production, in 2019, GM began construction of a new DMAX plant in Brookville, which would send machined engine components to Moraine for final assembly. Completed engines were shipped from Moraine to Flint, Michigan for assembly into vehicles.[10] The Brookville plant opened in 2021.[5] As of November 2023, the daily component production at the Brookville and Moraine plants are 418 blocks and 324 heads; and 500 blocks, 1,440 heads, and 855 crankshafts, respectively. Moraine produces 882 completed engines per day.[5]

According to financial filings, Isuzu wound down its investment in DMAX in May 2022,[5] leaving the company wholly owned by GM. In June 2023, GM announced plans to shift Duramax V8 production from Moraine to an expanded Campus Boulevard plant in Brookville by 2025.[11]

Engines

Completed engines are built for the GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, and Navistar trucks. Short blocks are produced for Gale Banks Engineering, who complete the engines for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, and marine fishing boats.[5]

Other Duramax-branded engines

General Motors produced multiple diesel engines under the Duramax brand, but these were not built in Moraine. DMAX, Ltd. exclusively produces the Duramax V8.

Other GM Duramax-branded diesel engines
Name Displacement Configuration Based on Produced Location
Circle L engine 1.7 L I4 Isuzu 4EE2 1999–2014? Isuzu Motors Polska
Duramax I4 engine 2.8 L I4 VM Motori A 428 2015–2022 GM Rayong in Thailand
DMAX I6 engine 3.0 L I6 Isuzu 6DE1 2001–2010? Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan

References

  1. ^ History on DMax website
  2. ^ "DMAX Marks 10-Year Manufacturing Milestone". GM. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Corporate History". www.Isuzu.co.jp. Isuzu Motors. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ^ "GM-Isuzu Duramax Diesel Joint Venture At Risk? (22 Dec 2009)". Pickuptrucks.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e Baver, Terry (November 24, 2023). "DMAX diesel engine business growing". The Register-Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  6. ^ Gnau, Thomas (September 16, 2009). "GM's new $70M engine a big boost to Duramax". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  7. ^ Bunkley, Nick; Vlasic, Bill (December 23, 2008). "Nearly the End of the Line for S.U.V.'s". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  8. ^ Stewart, Chris (February 22, 2006). "Third shift at Moraine plant set to end July 17". Dayton Daily News. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  9. ^ Navera, Tristan (11 Apr 2017). "GM, Isuzu hit the gas on expansion of engine production at joint factory". The Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  10. ^ Gnau, Thomas (November 21, 2019). "It's official: GM is building a $175 million DMAX plant in Brookville". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  11. ^ Gnau, Thomas (June 16, 2023). "GM's $920M DMAX expansion in Brookville means closure (or new use) of Moraine plant". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

External links

General Motors
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