Two more Hyundai suppliers will establish manufacturing sites in Georgia, following in the automaker’s footsteps to establish operations in the state.
Auto thermal systems manufacturer Hanon Systems will invest over $40 million in a new manufacturing facility, according to an announcement last month. The South Korea-based company’s new plant will be located near Statesboro and assemble automotive thermal solutions. The company aims to open the site in May 2024, creating 160 jobs.
Another South Korea-based company, Woory Industrial Co., is also headed to the state, investing $18 million to establish its first manufacturing facility in the U.S.
The new plant will be located in Dublin and will produce electrical heaters, control units and actuators for EV and internal combustion automakers in North America, according to a June 7 announcement. The site will create more than 130 jobs and operations are expected to commence in November.
“The transition to electric vehicles is the future, and the U.S. EV market is the key market among all automotive markets,” Woory Industrial CEO Jungwoo Kim said in a statement. “Georgia will be a good opportunity for Woory to take another step forward as part of the vanguard of EV development.”
The two factories are following Hyundai to the state after the automaker announced a $5.5 billion manufacturing campus in Ellabell last year, the largest economic development project in Georgia’s history.
Nine Hyundai suppliers and counting in Georgia
Georgia officials had predicted Hyundai’s Metaplant would attract approximately $1 billion to the state via offsite supplier investments. The automaker’s suppliers have outpaced that estimate, with plans to invest nearly $2 billion in the state, officials said in April.
More suppliers are still anticipated to be announced, Angela Hendrix, senior vice president of marketing and public relations of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
At the same time, Hyundai continues to expand its own investment in the state. In late May, Hyundai and LG Energy Solution struck a joint venture deal to build a $4.3 billion battery cell plant, which will be adjacent to the automaker’s EV campus.
The two South Korea-based companies will each take a 50% stake in the venture and facility, where Hyundai will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant to be sent to its U.S. manufacturing sites.
