Submitted photo Two workers at Ultium Cells in Lordstown inspect a cell as it proceeds through the cell assembly line. Cell assembly is the second phase in the cell manufacturing process where materials are assembled and packaged.The plant began production in August and expects to have 1,500 workers.

(This is No. 3 of the top 10 stories of the year as voted on by newsroom staff.)

LORDSTOWN — Ultium Cells, the joint venture between General Motors and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution to mass produce battery cells for electric vehicles, launched production in August from the part marker’s factory in Lordstown.

About two years before, it was a construction site.

Ground on the $2.3 billion plant was broken in April 2020. The journey from then to now has been “rewarding, exciting, full of learning and opportunity,” Ultium Cells spokeswoman Brooke Waid said.

“From the beginning, roughly a little more than a month after we announced our plans for the Ultium Cells facility in Ohio, we were all facing a global pandemic. We had to get creative and be flexible with our plans to progress safely, overcome uncontrollable supply chain disruptions and breakdown cultural barriers,” Waid said. “We had the combination of LG’s electrochemical expertise and GM’s century-plus of manufacturing experience, but we had our share of growing pains as we navigated through our startup phase and ultimately finding an identity of our own.”

“It’s humbling to look back on how much we have matured, but it is even more encouraging to look ahead at our journey just beginning to unfold and the dedicated team that is committed to excellence and to each other. If the past two years of learning, training and launching has taught us anything, it’s that we can adapt and lead in times of change — like this team has done and continues to do.”

Once fully operational in late 2023, the plant will employ more than 1,500 workers — a number greater than originally expected.

The announcement that production had started coincided with a visit to the 2.8 million-square-foot plant on the last day of August by Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and other state officials who left impressed.

Then, Husted said the facility lived up to its hype.

“I don’t know that I have ever seen a more high-tech automated process than we just had the opportunity to witness,” Husted said.

The factory has been shipping cells to GM for use in vehicles that include the Cadillac LYRIQ and GMC Hummer EV.

But the launch of manufacturing wasn’t the singular significant event for Ultium Cells or its employees in 2022.

Earlier this month, workers at the plant voted to unionize under the United Auto Workers. The 900 or so workers at the plant were the first to decide on union representation at a battery plant.

On Dec. 7 and 8, the National Labor Relations Board oversaw a vote by workers at the plant to join the UAW. The tally was 710 to 16.

“The vote shows that they want to be part of maintaining the high standards and wages that UAW members have built in the auto industry,” union President Ray Curry said in a statement.

The UAW sought the election, run by the NLRB, after it said GM wouldn’t recognize cards that Warren employees signed to join the union.

GM CEO Mary Barra said she would like to get a contract with the union at the Lordstown plant as quickly as possible. But the issue could be rolled into national contract talks with the automakers that are coming next year.

Ultium Cells, in statement after the vote, said it looks forward to a “positive working relationship with the UAW.”

“We’re proud of the many achievements our Ohio workforce has accomplished as a team and there’s lots of great work that continues to take place across our site as we build battery cells for our customer General Motors prioritizing both quality and safety,” the company stated.

The company has announced the sites of two other North American battery factories in Lansing, Mich., and Spring Hill, Tenn., to be built in the joint venture. The location of a fourth plant is expected to be announced soon.

Then on Dec. 13, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Ultium Cells had closed on a $2.5 billion federal loan to help finance construction of the plants, including the one in Lordstown.

The loan is the first-ever for a battery-cell manufacturing project. It’s through the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which supports domestic manufacturing of light-duty vehicles, qualifying components and materials that improve fuel economy.

Countdown of stories

Here are the top 10 stories of 2022 by editors of The Vindicator.

10 YSU’s Tressel has rough final year.

9 Chill Can saga continues in Youngstown.

8 Gunfire rings out in very public places in 2022.

7 Y-Live draws big crowd at new home.

6 Youngstown pivots on ambulance service.

5 Trumbull commissioners continue to clash in 2002.

4 Gains calls it quits after 26 years.

3 Ultium Cells powers up production.