Marelli to Build Interiors Components in Ohio

Tier 1 automotive supplier Marelli will build a plant supporting new business for its Interiors Unit in Bowling Green, OH, with construction expected to be complete in early 2021.

The 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,290 sq.-m) facility 70 miles (112 km) south of Detroit will include manufacturing, assembly and warehousing operations to support two new bulkhead programs. A bulkhead is a structural portion of the vehicle that provides attachment locations for the headlamps, radiator and hood latch.

Marelli will hire about 75 employees to support production of more than 760,000 components per year. Jobs will be added as new customers are acquired, the company says in a news release.

“There are many factors that go in to building a business case for a new site,” says Chris Bradford, regional head of interiors at Marelli. “Our key considerations were affordability, proximity to customers, quality of the local workforce and the opportunity to expand. The state of Ohio, Wood County and ultimately the city of Bowling Green checked all the boxes for us.

“The location strengthens our delivery position with automotive OEMs in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada.”

Marelli has 62,000 employees worldwide and operates 170 facilities and R&D centers across Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa.