ZF invests $200 million at Laurens plant

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Vehicle transmission manufacturer ZF plans to invest $200 million to launch its PowerLine eight-speed automatic transmission production line at its Gray Court facility by 2023.

The investment is slated to create 500 jobs, according to a news release.

“ZF is a 106-year-old technology leader that has been in the U.S. for many decades, and this investment in U.S. manufacturing of sustainable driveline technology further proves our commitment to the North American commercial vehicle market,” Martin Fischer, president and board of management member of ZF North America, said in the news release. “Together now with WABCO, ZF offers customers around the world an unrivaled product portfolio that includes driveline, steering, braking, ADAS technologies and telematics, coupled with a full-service network.”

The 1,687,000-square-foot Gray Court plant is strategically located near BMW, Michelin and other top global suppliers in Greenville, according to the release. Since opening in 2012, the facility has produced 5.5 million automatic transmissions and employs 2,200 people.

“We started production in 2012 with our eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions and quickly became a center of manufacturing excellence,” Thomas Joos, vice president of ZF Transmissions Gray Court, said in the release. “As a result, we’ve been expanding our manufacturing footprint since our grand opening. With the support of a dedicated workforce and collaborative regional partners, we are looking forward to adding the PowerLine to our facility.”

The plant currently has the capacity to produce 1.2 million transmissions each year. ZF’s PowerLine transmission, first produced at its German plant in late 2020, will be used in medium-duty commercial vehicle trucks, buses and heavy-duty pickup trucks with the potential to be used in plug-in hybrid vehicles, according to the news release.