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An auto supplier that entered the U.S. market less than three years ago is once again expanding its debut campus in eastern Alabama.
Shinhwa Auto USA said it will establish a second facility in Auburn, Alabama, to bolster its production of aluminum parts and meet demand for components from electric vehicle makers in coming years. The project will build a 400,000-square-foot building near its other location in the Auburn Technology Park West.
Shinhwa Group, the company’s South Korean parent, announced the first Auburn factory in 2019 to supply drive shafts to the Hyundai factory in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Kia plant in West Point, Georgia. The company late last year announced a $42 million expansion of the initial facility to add high-pressure aluminum die casting and post-processing equipment.
The latest project, valued at $78 million, would allow the company to diversify its customer base — particularly from the electric vehicle market, officials said. It is expected to create 42 new jobs over the next three years.
“This new facility will give us greater capacity for aluminum automotive parts, including both die casting and machining operations,” Shinhwa Group founder and CEO Kwi Hyun Lee said in the announcement.
The second facility brings the company’s total investment in Alabama to $190 million.
Image Credit: Shinhwa Auto USA
