Two more automobile parts suppliers have joined the wave of companies flocking to Georgia to service Hyundai Motor Group’s future Metaplant near Savannah and the expansion to Kia’s West Point factory.
Hwashin, a Korean car part and frame maker, announced Tuesday a $176 million facility in Dublin, which is roughly 100 miles northwest of Hyundai’s future $7.6 billion electric vehicle factory. On the same day, Korean car seat and arm rest supplier Hyundai Industrial Co. announced a $24 million project near Newnan, which will provide parts to manufacturing plants for both Hyundai and Kia.
Hwashin is expected to employ 460 workers at its facility, which it will build at the Georgia Highway 257 Rail Served Site. It’s scheduled to begin production in late 2025. Hyundai Industrial purchased an existing building at 83 Amlajack Way that it will retrofit into a manufacturing facility. It will employ about 100 workers.
Both companies join a fast-growing roster of parts suppliers that are opening locations across the Peach State to accommodate Hyundai and Kia’s plans. Hundreds of thousands of plug-in Hyundai, Genesis and Kia models are expected to begin rolling off the Metaplant’s assembly line as soon as late 2024, while Kia’s West Point factory is undergoing a $200 million expansion to incorporate EV production lines.
“With Kia in West Georgia and Hyundai on the eastern coast, suppliers like Hyundai Industrial can locate almost anywhere in the state and still be center of at least two major manufacturers,” Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a news release.
Credit: Drew Kann/AJC
Credit: Drew Kann/AJC
Roughly a dozen Hyundai suppliers have have announced projects within the Metaplant’s orbit in Bryan County, combining for billions of dollars of additional investment, according to the release. Since 2020, the state has attracted $25.1 billion in EV investments with a combined 29,000 jobs.
“Partners like Kia and Hyundai are attracting a large network of suppliers, creating jobs and opportunity for hardworking Georgians across the entire state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news release.
Incentives from state and local officials have played a factor in recruiting projects across the electric vehicle and battery supply chain. As part of recruiting Hyundai’s Metaplant, state and local officials provided $1.8 billion in incentives, including tax breaks, grants and worker training, the largest such incentive package in state history.
A spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Economic Development said Hyundai Industrial did not receive any discretionary incentives, while negotiations with Hwashin remain active. Both companies will likely qualify for job creation tax credits and worker training through Georgia Quick Start.
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