By Johnathan Sander
From the September/October 2013 issue
Gov. Nathan Deal recently announced that Hyundai Dymos is opening a manufacturing plant in West Point, GA to supply Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. The new facility will create 350 manufacturing jobs and is a $35 million investment.
“Hyundai Dymos is joining a booming automotive industry in Georgia,” said Deal. “Kia’s presence here has been a magnet for automotive suppliers, and our ready-to-work, highly trained workforce ensures that Georgia stays in the running for major automotive projects.”
The plant will be located in West Point near KMMG and is scheduled to be completed by July. The company will begin hiring in January and will begin normal production in November 2014.
Founded in 1994 in South Korea, Hyundai Dymos manufactures manual transmissions, axles and seats for automobiles. The West Point plant will manufacture seats for the new Kia Sorento. Hyundai Dymos will use Georgia Quick Start, the No. 1 workforce training program in the United States, to train its employees for its manufacturing needs.
“The objective of this project is to further improve the competitiveness of KMMG by providing a steady and reliable supply of auto parts for KMMG’s continually increasing production,” said Jun Mo Yoon, Representative Director of Hyundai Dymos. “We chose West Point because of the proximity to our customer base, but also because of the extraordinary support and interest by the local communities. The City of West Point and Troup County worked very closely with us to resolve any start-up issues. They truly are committed to building a business-friendly environment, and we feel that we have become good partners.”
The Georgia Department of Economic Development partnered on the project with the City of West Point Development Authority, the Valley Partnership and the Development Authority of LaGrange. David Lyons of West Point Development Authority and Hee-jung Shin of GDEcD’s office in Seoul also assisted with the project.
“The City of West Point is pleased to welcome Hyundai Dymos to our community,” said Drew Ferguson, Mayor of West Point. “Its commitment to create 350 jobs and initially invest $35 million will have a positive impact in West Point and the west Georgia region. “We are grateful for the partnership with, and support of, the State of Georgia and Troup County, which has made this project possible. We look forward to having Hyundai Dymos as part of our success story.”
“Hyundai Dymos is one of numerous Korean companies to settle in Georgia, which highlights Korea’s confidence in our business environment and the importance of building international relationships,” said Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
“Projects like this don’t happen without the trust built through relationships—whether they’re international relationships or community ones.”
KMMG is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corp., based in Seoul. With an annual capacity of 360,000 units, KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point and began mass production in 2009. KMMG’s presence in West Point is responsible for the creation of more than 14,000 jobs in the region, including approximately 7,000 jobs created by Georgia-based suppliers.
