Flex-N-Gate Group plans to invest $52 million and add 245 new jobs in Troy, Mich., where it is building out a 205,000-square-foot plant.
The Illinois-based auto supplier will produce sequenced plastic fascias and welded underbody rear rails in the former AxleTech plant, according to a Thursday news release from the state.
The company is hiring for the plant, and jobs are anticipated to be filled by July 31, 2022, said Otie McKinley, spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The jobs pay an average of $881 per week plus benefits, according to an MEDC memo.
The state is supporting the project with a $1 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Additionally, the city of Troy is extending a previously approved tax abatement for the project, valued at $154,812.
“The expansion of Flex-N-Gate Troy means an additional 245 new jobs in Southeast Michigan and continues our leadership in advanced automotive manufacturing and mobility,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in the release.
The plant is the result of the supplier winning a five-year contract with an unnamed customer for a new product line. Flex-N-Gate’s clients have included Stellantis, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.
“We are thrilled to once again be expanding Flex-N-Gate’s footprint in Michigan with our new manufacturing operation located in Troy,” Bill Beistline, executive vice president of metals and procurement for Flex-N-Gate, said in the release. “Flex-N-Gate truly appreciates the support that the city and state have shown regarding this project.”
Flex-N-Gate employs more than 20,000 across nine countries, including 6,000 employees at 17 sites in Michigan. It broke ground in 2017 on a $95 million, 600,000-square-foot plant in Detroit.
The supplier had considered Windsor, Ontario, over Troy for its new plant but border crossing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Michigan’s grant incentive, secured its investment in metro Detroit, according to the MEDC.
Flex-N-Gate ranks No. 29 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with 2019 sales to automakers of $8.9 billion.