A Mexico City-based automotive supplier plans to invest $54 million to establish a manufacturing plant and U.S. headquarters in suburban Detroit, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said Thursday.
Tremec Corp., a unit of Kuo Group, plans to lease and equip a new building in Wixom, Mich., that will serve as an automotive transmission production operation along with a sales and technical center, according to the MEDC. The project represents the company's first major manufacturing operation in the U.S.
The move is expected to create 133 jobs, the state said.
Tremec, founded in 1964, established operations in Michigan in 1975 and today has 27 employees at its technical and sales office in Plymouth Township. The 1,450-employee company produces transmissions, torque components and powertrain products for high-performance vehicles, including passenger, commercial and heavy duty vehicles.
Tremec on Thursday won a $731,500 performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, a division of MEDC.
"Tremec's expansion in Michigan rather than other states means excellent, well-paying jobs for Michigan residents and underscores the strength of the talent in the state's automotive sector," MEDC CEO Steve Arwood said in a statement.
The new operation will allow Tremec to make investments and create jobs related to the design, development and manufacture of transmission and other powertrain products for the North American automotive and heavy equipment sectors, according to the MEDC.
It said the grant was needed because while Michigan provides access to domestic automotive companies, a competing site in Indiana offers access to domestic automotive producers in the Midwest and closer proximity to foreign-owned automotive plants in Indiana and in the South.
The city of Wixom has offered Tremec a property tax abatement.
