Dräxlmaier earmarks $22.35 million for Duncan facility

The investment includes the previously announced addition of a $10 million, 64,500 sq. foot (6,000 sq. meter) production building to the existing facility, as well as upgrades to the plant infrastructure and equipment. The expansion alone is expected to create 150 new jobs – 50 more than initially planned.

“We are committed to growing our North American business,” said company chairman and CEO Fritz Dräxlmaier at the corporate headquarters in Vilsbiburg, Germany. “This investment is sending the clear message that our main focus is on the U.S. market and our U.S. customers.”

The announcement was made today in the presence of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who was visiting the Dräxlmaier corporate headquarters together with S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt and Ian Forbes-Jones, managing director of the State of South Carolina Europe Office in Munich, Germany.

“Dräxlmaier has been an important part of our state’s business community for more than a decade,” Haley said. “We appreciate everything you do in South Carolina and are ex-cited to see your company grow and create jobs here.”

The new production hall will expand the plant’s capacity by more than a third and house state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technology for the assembly of vehicle interiors and components, including instrument panels, center con-soles and door panels.

“We want to achieve a sustainable growth in North America,” said Dr. Hubertus Tuczek, board member of the Dräxlmaier Group. “This investment will allow us to further enhance our competences as well as our customer and product portfolio in the region.”

Construction of the building addition has been underway since early March and is expected to be completed by mid-September. The addition was designed by Germany-based DELTA ImmoTec GmbH. Local contractors include Context Design Group PLLC of Greenville, S.C.; MB Kahn Construc-tion Company of Greenville, S.C.; Paragon Engineering & Geosciences LLC of Greenville, S.C.; and Collins Hammett Construction LLC of Greer, S.C.

“Our Duncan plant plays an important strategic role for our North America business,” said Karl Wallner, board member of the Dräxlmaier Group. “The expansion shows that we are committed to a steady growth in this region. The well-trained and highly-skilled workforce in South Carolina will help us to design and manufacture high-quality products for the international automotive industry.”

A Tier I supplier to the international automotive industry, Dräxlmaier manufactures premium interiors and plastic com-ponents at its Duncan site, which is also home to the company’s U.S. headquarters. Built in 1998, the facility has been expanded twice since then, the last time in 2005 when a new R&D wing was added to the existing building.

DAA Draexlmaier Automotive of America LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dräxlmaier Group of Germany. The company’s main lines of business include interior components, cockpits, wiring harness and electrical management systems. Customers in North America include BMW, General Motors/Cadillac and Volkswagen.