Gestamp, a Spanish automotive company, has announced plans to invest a minimum of $100 million to reopen a stamping plant in South Charleston, bringing hundreds of jobs to the area.
West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette told The Charleston Gazette that the company “will employ about 175 people within 12 to 16 months and 400 to 500 within three to five years.” As of April 19, nearly 1,700 people had applied for jobs.
The company expects to have some staff working in the plant by late summer or early fall.
Gestamp is an international group that specializes in the design, development and manufacture of metal components and structural systems for the automotive industry. The company is a supplier for nearly all of the major automotive companies and has some 120 locations worldwide.
The South Charleston plant, which has been vacant since 2006 according to local reports, contains more than 1 million s.f. and is situated on a 30-acre site. The facility has been owned by Ray Park since 1969 and over the years has been leased by American Motors Corp., Chrysler, Volkswagen, Checker Motors Corp., Mayflower and Union Stamping & Assembly. The last tenant, Union Assembly, closed in 2006 after declaring bankruptcy. Park subsequently invested some $20 million to renovate the plant, with the state putting another $15 million toward the renovation.
Add Comment