HUNTINGTON, IN- This from wishtv.com (WISH): Hanjung America will establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Huntington, a project expected to create more than 300 initial jobs, said a news release issued Thursday from the Indiana Department of Commerce.
The South Korea-based company will build the factory on 133 acres at the Riverfork West Industrial Park to produce components for energy storage systems, the release said. The company expects full employment could reach more than 440 jobs in the coming years.
Hanjung America plans to break ground on the Huntington facility in April. The company expects the factory to begin operations in June 2027. The release did not say how much the company plans to invest in the Huntington facility.
The facility will serve as a tier-one supplier for Samsung SDI and support the StarPlus Energy electric vehicle battery operations in Kokomo.
The factory will produce cooling systems and enhanced direct injection fire extinguishers for container-type energy storage systems. These products will support the supply chain for Stellantis and Samsung SDI’s StarPlus Energy electric vehicle battery manufacturing operations in Kokomo.
Thursday’s news came as Stellantis in London announced a “reset” of its business after its enormous investments in electric vehicles failed to pay off. Stellantis said it would take charges of more than $26 billion, the bulk of which includes write-offs and cash payments for canceled EV products and costs of resizing its EV supply chain. The strategy revision follows similar — and expensive — actions from Ford and General Motors in recent weeks, CNN reported on Thurdsay.
The Indiana Department of Commerce release said Hanjung America will join several other suppliers, including soulbrain MI and Jaweon Industrial, that have recently established operations in Indiana to support the state’s growing energy storage supply chain.