Magneti Marelli has announced it will invest $35 million to expand its automotive lighting production capacity in the U.S., by converting an existing company plant in Independence Township (Oakland County, Michigan) into a facility dedicated to the production of headlamps. The new plant layout and activity will create more than 360 jobs over five years.
Automotive Lighting, the subsidiary of Magneti Marelli Spa, devoted to the automotive lighting sector, is reporting constant growth of the business in NAFTA and says the new investment satisfies the need to serve local customers in the Michigan area.
“The U.S. market is becoming more and more important for Magneti Marelli,” said Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Magneti Marelli, “and this investment enables a more powerful production platform for the lighting business, supporting in the best way possible our local customers in the Michigan region. It reaffirms our commitment and trust in the Michigan industrial and economic system, where we have our regional headquarters, an R&D center and we employ about 380 people.”
As a result of the expansion, the company has been awarded a $2 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Independence Township has offered support to the project in the form of property tax abatement.
Automotive Lighting develops, manufactures and sells automotive exterior lighting products for all major OEMs worldwide. Magneti Marelli is part of FCA.