Magna secures BMW seat business

Auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. has won multiple new seating programs from the BMW Group which will be supplied from a new, state-of-the-art seat manufacturing facility in Spartanburg County, S.C.

The contracts are the first BMW Group seat programs in Magna’s history.

Representatives from Magna held a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 6 at the site where construction has recently started on the 230,000-square-foot facility.

The event was attended by Magna and BMW Group leadership, as well as representatives from state and county government.

“This is a new chapter in the ongoing collaboration between Magna and the BMW Group, as it’s our first seating business award with this valued global customer,” said Mike Bisson, president of Magna Seating. “With this investment and job creation we are extremely pleased to join the growing automotive industry in South Carolina.”

An architectural rendering of Magna Seating South Carolina.

Magna’s new seating plant is expected to be operational in June 2017 and could employ up to 480 people by 2020. The facility will feature dedicated assembly and sequencing lines to supply seats for various BMW models at the BMW Group’s nearby assembly plant.

Aurora, Ont.-based Magna has three manufacturing locations and employs approximately 1,450 people in South Carolina. The new seating facility will be Magna’s fourth location in the state.

“I congratulate Magna on this tremendous new investment in Spartanburg County. It’s exciting to see South Carolina’s automotive sector continue to thrive, and it means that our pro-business strategy is paying dividends,” said South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.