Area Manufacturing Plant to See Major Expansion

Auto-parts maker, ZF, announced a $175 million investment Friday that will dramatically expand its operations in Gray Court and create 450 new jobs.

The global supplier of driveline and chassis technology will expand its operations in Laurens County to include its first-ever United States transmission assembling facility.

The Gray Court plant will be the manufacturing site of the 8-speed automatic transmission, as well as the world’s first 9-speed automatic transmission. In addition, ZF’s new transmission is specially designed for passenger cars with front-transverse engines; compared to today’s standard 6-speed automatic transmission, it cuts fuel consumption by up to 16 percent, the company boasted.

The 950,000-square-foot Gray Court plant is expected to produce 1.2 million transmissions annually. Previously, the 8-speed automatic transmission was only manufactured in Saarbrücken, Germany. The company also plans to expand on the existing capacities of its German 8HP plant. By 2016, a total of around 1.4 million square feet will be available so customers can be adequately served.

By 2016, the number of employees is expected to increase from 1,200 to 1,650, according to the company.

“Today’s announced investment represents the third one in four years for ZF’s Laurens County operations. ZF’s continued investment in our state not only helps bolster South Carolina’s manufacturing sector, but also shows that our state remains just right for the automotive industry,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt in a news release.