An automobile parts supplier announced Thursday that it is joining a growing list of companies opening factories in Coastal Georgia to support Hyundai Motor Group’s future $5.54 billion electric vehicle plant.
Ecoplastic Corporation, a South Korean-based company that manufactures interior and exterior automotive parts, will build a $205 million plant in Bulloch County, according to a state news release. The factory is expected to employ 456 workers.
The company has been a parts supplier for Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia for decades, supplying both with plastic bumpers, consoles, trims and molds. Ecoplastic will build its new factory at 4822 U.S. 301 near Statesboro and expects to begin operations by October 2024.
“We’re proud to welcome Ecoplastic to our growing ecosystem of manufacturers, logistics professionals, suppliers, and more, building on the record-breaking jobs and investments that are on their way to the Peach State,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in the release.
Hyundai broke ground in October on what it calls its Metaplant America, which it plans to open in 2025 along I-16 about 30 miles west of Savannah. Hyundai promised to hire 8,100 workers at the EV plant, and state and local leaders have touted Hyundai’s on-site jobs and investment as well as commitments to bring thousands more jobs at suppliers around Georgia as justification for a record-breaking $1.8 billion incentive package.
Ecoplastic is the third parts supplier to be announced for Coastal Georgia to support the Hyundai factory, and the second one announced in Bulloch. Since 2020, Georgia has tallied more than 30 electric mobility-related projects, totaling more than $13 billion in corporate investments and at least 23,000 promised jobs.
“As we continue to build the supplier network for the Hyundai metaplant in Bryan County, we are excited to see suppliers spread out across the region — providing well-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs for Georgians,” Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in the release.
In December, Hyundai and fellow Korean conglomerate SK Innovation announced a joint EV battery plant in Bartow County, northwest of Atlanta. The project ranks as the third-largest corporate investment in state history, only behind Hyundai’s future Savannah factory and EV upstart Rivian’s planned $5 billion factory in southern Morgan and Walton counties.
Information about incentives for Ecoplastic was not immediately available, but the company will likely qualify for tax credits for new jobs created and other inducements.
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