An Explosion and Fire at a Vendor’s Plant is the Reason for the Edge Red Paint Constraints

By
Keith Cornett
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3
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An Explosion and Fire at a Vendor's Plant is the Reason for the Edge Red Paint Constraints

Photo Credit: Keith Cornett


While away at Corvettes at Carlisle, we received the unfortunate news that not only was the Corvette Assembly Plant going to be idled this week due to supply chain issues, but that the 70th Anniversary Package was once again put on constraint due to a shortage of the Edge Red Brake Calipers and Engine Covers featured on the special edition.

I know how frustrating this is for many of you waiting on your cars, but sometimes these supply issues are totally and completely out of GM’s control. Believe it or not, the reason why the Edge Red paint is under constraint is due to a fire at the vendor who makes the special high-temp coating for the Corvette’s brake calipers and LT2 engine covers.

During the evening hours on July 10th, an explosion and fire were reported at the Allnex manufacturing plant in East St. Louis, Illinois. The report on Allnex.com says that the explosion occurred in a catalyst charging tank containing peroxide. Two Allnex employees were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the explosion and fire that broke out afterward.

The blog post goes on to say that a localized fire was put out by the responding fire department, but not before causing damage to the roof of the production building and structures surrounding the catalyst tank.

We reached out on Tuesday to a representative at Allnex for an update on the plant’s operational status, but have yet to hear anything back.

An Explosion and Fire at a Vendor's Plant is the Reason for the Edge Red Paint Constraints


As we were working on putting this all together, we’ve received conflicting answers to our question about the status of the Edge Red calipers and engine covers, and so I can’t really say definitively if Edge Red will be back any time soon. A Chevrolet rep told us in response to this story that they expect production of the 70th Anniversary Corvettes to resume “shortly,” but we’ve also heard that the contingency plan is to replace those Edge Red components on the 70th Anniversary cars with Torch Red versions.

We also understand that Edge Red coating is a trademarked color/coating owned by Allnex, so you can’t just take the color in-house or go to another supplier with it.

It was just last December that the Corvette Assembly Plant had its own natural disaster after a tornado passed over the plant, causing a fire and a huge hole in the roof that allowed water into the plant. As a result, over 120 cars had to be scrapped.

We like to think positive in cases like this, but Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will) continues to play a major factor in producing the mid-engine Corvette.


Source:
Allnex.com

Related:
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[SPIED] 70th Anniversary’s White Pearl Metallic vs Arctic White
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3 COMMENTS

  1. Sorry to hear about the accident at the supplier. At any rate, torch red calipers clash on a red mist car. That’s unacceptable. So GM, why not find a source for red mist special high-temp coating? Maybe Google it?

  2. plant in East St. Louis late Sunday.

    Firefighters from multiple departments rushed to Allnex Inc., 2904 Missouri Avenue, at about 10 p.m. Sunday, along with a hazardous materials team.

    Authorities have not released the condition of the employees who were treated. One worker suffered burns.

    Dispatchers at first reported the fire as a tanker explosion, but those reports could not be immediately confirmed. As crews were taking one worker to an awaiting ambulance, they still were trying to find out what chemical was involved.

    No one from the company could be reached by the Post-Dispatch for comment. Allnex produces industrial coating resins and adhesives, according to the company website.

    Dispatchers summoned several ambulances to the scene, as smoke billowed in a northwest direction from the plant.

    Won’t be getting any edge red from here for a while.

  3. Friend has 3lt Red Mist on order due to start build last Monday. First told no red dipped napa leather interior available, (among many others). He switched to black with red trim. Then told no edge red brake calipers as this article now explains. He told them he would wait rather than have calipers disassembled and painted later at the dealer.

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