Sewon Plans To Spend $300 Million On Georgia Manufacturing Facility

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

February 24, 2023

(The Center Square) — An automobile body parts manufacturer plans to open a manufacturing facility in Effingham County.

Sewon America plans to spend more than $300 million on the manufacturing facility at Rincon’s Grande View industrial park. Officials said the project would create 740 new jobs and is Rincon’s "largest known private investment."

The company, a subsidiary of Korean-based Sewon Precision Industry Co., plans to produce electric vehicle body parts for original equipment manufacturers. Those OEMs include the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, which broke ground on its first fully dedicated EV and battery manufacturing facility in Bryan County on Oct. 25, 2022.

In an email, a Georgia Department of Economic Development spokeswoman told The Center Square that Georgia Quick Start, which provides companies with custom job training, "is involved." However, she said the project is still active and did not provide details about other incentives and how much it might cost Georgia taxpayers.

"Investments by companies like Sewon continue to build on Georgia’s commitment to remain the No. 1 state in which to do business while attracting a robust workforce," Lt. Governor Burt Jones said in an announcement. "This investment of more than $300 million in Effingham County will have a positive impact on the local community and our state."

In 2008, Sewon America opened a manufacturing facility in LaGrange. That facility has doubled in size since opening, and according to a news release, Sewon is expected to "support" 1,600 jobs in Georgia after the Rincon facility starts operations in 2025.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.