Georgia Supplier Plans $40M Auto Parts Plant Near New Hyundai Complex

A South Korean firm will invest $40 million in coastal Georgia to manufacture heating and cooling systems near a Hyundai Motor Group assembly facility.

Hanon Systems announced on Tuesday that the plant would be built near Statesboro, with plans to hire at least 160 new workers.

Hanon Systems is the region’s eighth major supplier, following Hyundai’s announcement in 2022 that it will establish a $5.5 billion plant in Ellabell, Georgia, to assemble electric vehicles and batteries. The plant could employ 8,100 people and will begin producing vehicles in 2025.

Since then, Hanon Systems and seven other suppliers have agreed to invest more than $2 billion and hire 4,800 people.

“Today’s announcement aligns with our strategy to support the industry’s shift towards electrification while growing our North American footprint,” Hanon Systems CEO Ming Sun said in a statement.

Hanon Systems, like a number of other South Korean vendors, already supplies a Hyundai assembly facility in Montgomery, Alabama, and a Kia plant in West Point, Georgia. Hanon Systems, based in Daejon, South Korea, manufactures heating and air conditioning systems at a plant in Shorter, Alabama, which began in 2003 and has since expanded at least three times.

The company intends to begin manufacturing in May 2024 at a plant in a business park on Statesboro’s southern outskirts.

A South Korean private equity group owns the majority of Hanon Systems, while the remainder is publicly traded. The company was formed by the merger of Halla Climate Control and related businesses from Visteon Corp., Cooper Standard Automotive, and Magna International.