Kia supplier Powertech America to Locate in West Point

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Kia supplier Powertech America plans to locate on the Kia site in West Point, creating 355 jobs and investing $150 million.

“Today’s announcement brings the total number of jobs planned by Kia and its suppliers to more than 6,200 and the total investment to more than $1.7 billion,” said Governor Perdue. “Having the transmission plant locate on site with the assembly facility is a great win for Georgia.”

Powertech America, whose parent company Hyundai Powertech is headquartered in Seosan, Korea, plans to build automatic transmissions for the Kia plant. This will be Powertech’s first U.S. facility. The company has been a supplier to Kia and Hyundai since its formation in 2001. For its new plant in West Point, Powertech America will lease 20 acres on the Kia pad site to build an approximately 213,000-square-foot facility. Production is expected to begin in February 2010.
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Powertech is the latest in a series of Kia suppliers to locate in West Georgia. Others include Hyundai Mobis, GLOVIS, Dongwon Autopart Technology, DongNam Tech, DAEHAN Solution, Sewon America, Sejong Georgia and Johnson Controls. The total number of supplier jobs is estimated at 3,765, and the total investment is expected to top $506 million. With Kia’s planned 2,500 jobs and $1.2 billion investment, the economic impact on West Georgia is continuing to grow.

“We are proud to locate our first U.S. plant here in West Point,” said Il-Soo Jung, director of Hyundai Powertech. “Powertech has a reputation for excellence, and we look forward to making our mark with high-tech 6-speed automatic transmissions in Georgia.”

“Hyundai Powertech represents an exciting opportunity for all of us in Troup County,” said Drew Ferguson III, chairman of the West Point Development Authority. “These are high-paying, skilled jobs and they will complement Kia, Glovis and Mobis to bring an estimated 4,500 jobs on the Kia pad site alone.”

“We are very pleased to have Powertech join the major automobile suppliers in Troup County,” said Diethard Lindner, chairman of the Development Authority of LaGrange. “This is a very significant event because Hyundai and Kia have decided to manufacture automatic transmissions in Troup County instead of importing transmissions from Korea.”

Hyundai Powertech, headquartered in Seosan, Korea, is an industry leader in the manufacturing of automotive transmissions. Founded in 2001, the company aims to make a high-quality product using the best in technology. Hyundai Powertech is affiliated with Hyundai Motors Corp., Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Mobis.