900 jobs, coming soon to Laurens County

By Charles Sowell  

JULY 22, 2010 3:17 p.m. (0)

A $350 million plant that should employ 900 workers in Laurens County was announced by state officials and ZF Group of Friedrichshafen, Germany, Thursday.

The new plant will make fuel-efficient automatic transmissions for passenger cars and the light truck market, officials of ZF Group said.

The announcement in South Carolina came after the ZF Board of Management meeting in Germany that included top company officials and state department of commerce officials.

“ZF's decision to make a jobs and capital investment of this magnitude, indeed the largest single infusion of jobs in the history of Laurens County, is an incredible compliment to our state.  This announcement represents not only enormously good news for our state’s economy, but also is a telling dividend from our continued efforts to better the business climate in South Carolina,” said Gov. Mark Sanford.

ZF currently operates manufacturing plants in the state and has been expanding its presence due to its proximity to transportation hubs, good business environment and skilled workforce, state officials said.

The new plant should reach the 900 worker goal by 2015.

“We are eager to build our fuel-efficient automatic transmissions in North America.  We believe the increasing emphasis on fuel economy and our reputation for producing high-quality, fuel-efficient transmissions provide an unprecedented opportunity to grow our business.  We believe this production facility could serve as a key driver of this growth,” says Dr. Gerhard Wagner, Group Executive of ZF's Car Driveline Division.

Work should start on the Laurens plant in January and hiring is expected to start by early 2012 for skilled positions that include CNC operators, assemblers, production and logistics.

The states worker training program readySC will assist in the hiring process and information will be posted on their Website www.sctechjobs.com as jobs become available.

ZF is ranked among the 10 largest automotive suppliers worldwide.  For more information, visit www.zf.com.

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