Magna International investing in new auto parts plants in Michigan

Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. has some big plans in Michigan.

According to news reports, Aurora, Ont.-based Magna plans to build a 350,000-square-foot plant in Delta Township, Mich. Norplas Industries, an Ohio company owned by Magna, plans to build what is billed as a state-of-the-art robotic paint line and injection molding factory in a Delta Township industrial tract that includes General Motors Co.’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant.

According to a report in the Lansing State Journal, Magna officials have not settled on an exact site; also, pay ranges for employees and a timetable for opening the plant have not been set.

Overall, Norplas plans to spend US$81.8 million on the two facilities, the Lansing State Journal said, including $75 million on the Delta site.

Also, Magna’s Cosma International operating unit plans to open an automotive casting components and systems facility in the city of Battle Creek, Mich.

According to a news release from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the facility, once established, will be known as Cosma Casting Michigan and is expected to create up to 572 new jobs based on investment of up to US$162 million. “As a result, the company has been awarded a US$1.6 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant,” the MEDC release said. “The city of Battle Creek has offered support to the project in the form of property tax abatements.”