South Korean supplier plans $40 million auto parts plant in Georgia near new Hyundai complex
May 23, 2023, 4:27 PM
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — A South Korean company will build a $40 million factory in coastal Georgia to make heating and cooling systems near a Hyundai Motor Group auto assembly plant.
Hanon Systems announced Tuesday that it would build the plant in Statesboro, with plans to hire at least 160 new employees.
Hanon Systems is the eighth major supplier to locate in the region after Hyundai said in 2022 that it would build a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, Georgia. The site could grow to 8,100 employees and is slated to begin producing vehicles in 2025.
Hanon Systems and seven other suppliers have since pledged to invest more than $2 billion and hire 4,800 people.
“Today’s announcement aligns with our strategy to support the industry shift toward electrification while growing our North America footprint,” Hanon Systems CEO Ming Sun said in a statement.
Like a number of South Korean suppliers, Hanon Systems already supplies a Hyundai assembly plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and a Kia plant in West Point, Georgia. Based in Daejon, South Korea, Hanon Systems makes heating and air conditioning systems at a plant in Shorter, Alabama, that opened in 2003 and has expanded at least three times.
The company plans to begin production in May 2024 at a plant in a business park on the southern outskirts of Statesboro.
A majority of Hanon Systems is owned by a South Korean private equity firm, while the rest is publicly traded. The company has plants worldwide and was created by combining Halla Climate Control, and related businesses from Visteon Corp., Cooper Standard Automotive and Magna International.
Hanon Systems could qualify for $3.2 million in state income tax credits, at $4,000 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The state will also pay to train workers. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from Bulloch County.
