LG Energy Solution Expands Campus in Holland, Michigan
LG Energy Solution Michigan
LG Energy Solution Michigan is expanding its campus in Holland, Mich., on the state’s west side.
LG Energy Solution Positions Holland as North American Headquarters
HOLLAND, Mich. — LG Energy Solution is positioning its growing operation in Holland to become the company’s North American headquarters as it scales up battery manufacturing across the country.
This designation could bring an influx of white-collar and senior-level positions, building on the hundreds of advanced manufacturing jobs LG Energy Solution Michigan is creating with its $1.7 billion lithium-ion battery plant expansion in Holland. LG Energy Solution Michigan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seoul, South Korea-based LG Energy Solution.
“We are seriously considering making this site the headquarters for North America,” said Roger Traboulay, project manager at LG Energy Solution Michigan. “If that happens, it would bring in a whole band of directors and senior persons with executive-level housing needs.”
Holland is one of the eight plants across the U.S. and Canada that LG is aggressively investing in to build capacity and supply chains for automakers launching electric vehicle lines. Once operational, these eight plants are expected to have a combined 300 gigawatt-hours of electric vehicle battery production capacity by mid-decade.
Of these eight sites, Holland and an Arizona facility are solely owned by the company, while the rest are joint ventures with major automakers. The projects represent nearly $27 billion in combined investment between LG Energy Solution and its automaker partners, including General Motors, Stellantis, Honda, and Hyundai.
“As LG Energy Solution continues to expand in North America, the Holland facility is on track to fulfill the role of a control center, providing operational support and employee education/training to other facilities in the region,” said LG Energy Solution Communications Manager Val Gent.
The potential for an LG Energy Solution North American headquarters in Holland would create major opportunities for the region, adding research and development and white-collar technical jobs along with the company’s manufacturing operations.
LG Energy Solution Michigan is currently expanding its existing Holland battery plant, with plans for 13 new buildings, including a main manufacturing building. Construction is “substantially complete” on the site, and production is expected to start in about a year. However, the lack of housing in the area has posed challenges for LG’s hiring efforts.
LG Energy Solution Michigan plans to employ about 1,000 people at the new plant, which will have four times the capacity of the existing production plant in Holland.
The expansion project received support from the Michigan Strategic Fund board, with various grants and a 20-year renaissance zone valued at roughly $132.6 million.
Source: Crain’s Grand Rapids Business
