(The Center Square) – An auto supply company is expanding its footprint in Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey said.
The governor announced Tuesday that Shinhwa plans to invest $78 million into a second manufacturing facility in Auburn that is expected to create 42 new jobs over the course of the next three years.
“This is a great example of the constant innovation and advancements in manufacturing – particularly in the automotive sector – right here in Alabama,” Ivey said in a release. “With this expansion, Shinhwa will have invested over $190 million and created more than 185 well-paying jobs since choosing Auburn as their first U.S. location.”
According to the release, the company will construct a 400,000-square-foot production facility in Auburn Technology Park adjacent to its current building. The expansion will allow for additional output of aluminum parts and will help the company meet future demand with the rising production of electric vehicles.
“This new facility will give us greater capacity for aluminum automotive parts, including both die casting and machining operations, allowing us to further diversify our customer base,” Kwi Hyun Lee, founder and CEO of the Shinhwa Group, said in the release. “This increased capacity will give us the ability to provide greater support for the electric vehicle market here in the U.S.”
The Auburn facility opened in 2019, and since then the company has achieved enough growth to meet the demands of the auto industry. Shinhwa has vertically integrated its supply chain and has added capacity designed to support electric and fossil fuel engines in vehicle manufacturing, according to the release.
Shinhwa’s Auburn production facility provides parts to Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery and the Kia facility in West Point, Ga., according to the release.
Over the course of the past three years, Shinhwa has undertaken a substantial expansion, according to the release. In November 2021, the company added high-pressure aluminum die casting and post-processing equipment in a $42 million expansion project.
“Alabama has become a key player in the evolving global automotive industry, and Shinhwa’s continued growth in Auburn illustrates how our industry is preparing for the future,” Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said in the release. “We look forward to working with the company to support its expansion plans and fully develop the growth potential of its Auburn manufacturing operation.”
Brent Addleman is an Associate Editor and a veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has served as editor of newspapers in Pennsylvania and Texas, and has also worked at newspapers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Kentucky.
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