Dive Brief:
- Auto parts manufacturer Sewon America is investing over $300 million toward a second facility in Georgia, according to a Feb. 21 press release.
- Sewon’s facility will be located in Rincon and will produce EV body parts for original equipment manufacturers, including the Hyundai Metaplant near Savannah, according to the release.
- Suppliers for the Metaplant have now committed over $1.8 billion in investment in Georgia, at least $800 million higher than initial expectations. Sewon’s investment is expected to create 740 jobs.
Dive Insight:
South Korea-based Sewon is another manufacturer on the growing list of Hyundai suppliers either establishing or expanding its operations near the incoming $5.5 billion Hyundai Meta plant. Sewon already has one facility in LaGrange, Georgia, and the second facility will be Rincon’s largest private investment, according to the press release.
“On my very first international trip as governor to Korea, I had the opportunity to congratulate Chairman Kim on the company’s then-recent expansion and discuss how we could continue to work together,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement. “I am proud that those discussions have now led to this announcement as Sewon America continues to grow their Georgia operations.”
In November, Joon Georgia became the first supplier to announce operations, with plans to invest $317 million in a production facility in Bulloch County. Later that month, Hyundai Mobis became the second supplier to invest in the area, announcing it would spend $926 million in an EV Power Electric system plant in Bryan County.
In January, Ecoplastic Corporation announced it’s investing approximately $205 million in a new manufacturing facility in southeast Georgia to supply components to the incoming electric vehicle campus.
And last month, Seoyon E-Hwa announced it will invest almost $76 million toward its second manufacturing facility in Georgia.
As for the Hyundai Metaplant, which Kemp called the "largest economic development project in state history," it's estimated that the facility will create 8,100 jobs in Georgia's coastal region. Hyundai began recruiting to fill those jobs in November, according to a Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority press release.
