Magna plans $50M Chatham plant expansion
Auto parts supplier Magna says it will expand its operations in Chatham after it announced it had extended a significant contract with Ford.
Valued at $50 million, the 170,000-square-foot facility is expected to create up to 150 new jobs and will produce battery enclosures for the Ford F-150 Lighting electric pick-up truck.
Battery enclosures, which all electric vehicles require, house high-voltage batteries, electrical components, sensors and connectors, contributing to the structural and safety aspects of a vehicle’s frame and protecting critical components from potential impact, heat and water.
“With the hard work of our team members in our Formet, St. Thomas facility, we have been able to secure additional business that allows us to grow in two great communities,” said Mark Johnson, Magna’s Formet Industries General Manager. “We are coming to Chatham with new job opportunities working on an exciting new technology that offers a lot of growth potential.”
This game-changing Magna innovation is the largest lightweight aluminum battery enclosure on the market and the first on a work truck.
Construction of the facility will involve retrofitting the defunct Crown Metal Packaging plant in Chatham.
“As Chatham-Kent continues to grow, we’re thrilled that Magna has chosen our community to grow alongside,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff. “This investment is excellent news for the people of Chatham-Kent; it’s creating great jobs, in a rapidly growing industry, with a fantastic and very well-established company and goes to show our community’s commitment to supporting investment in innovative manufacturing.”
Magna says production at the factory is slated to begin this fall. The first F-150 Lightnings are slated to hit the market this spring.
Magna, which is headquartered in Aurora, is a multi-billion-dollar parts supplier to the automotive industry with over 158,000 employees worldwide.
Featured image: Aerial view of the Magna Chatham plant. (Magna)