ZF chooses Walbridge and Columbia based Red Rock Developments team to build local $350 million facility
February 8, 2011
COLUMBIA, SC – February 8, 2011 – The ZF Group chose WalbridgeSoutheast and Columbia based Red Rock Developments to be the designingand building contractor for the $350 million transmission plant in phaseone of Owings Industrial Park.We selected Walbridge because of its long-standing reputation forexcellence and its track record for designing world-class facilities,said ZF CEO Ludger Reckmann in a news release. This facility representsa key milestone in our fast-growing North American transmissionbusiness.
The ZF Group of Friedrichshafen, Germany will break ground on the ZFTransmissions building Feb. 2, although this date could change. Thisfacility will hire around 900 people by 2015 to make fuel-efficienteight and nine speed automatic transmissions for passenger cars andlight trucks.
ZF announced a highly fuel-efficient nine-speed automatictransmission for front-drive cars earlier this month, according to anews release, which will be built at the Laurens County facility.
Job seekers can apply now through readySC and hiring is set to beginnext year. This increase in ZF employees in S.C. will increase thecurrent North American workforce for this company by more than 15percent.
Walbridge Southeast, a Michigan-based company, has regional offices inColumbia and Charlotte. Its partners include Red Rock Developments ofColumbia, SSOE, Gala Associates with offices in Greenville and BP Barberof Columbia.
ZF currently operates S.C. manufacturing facilities and is slowlybranching out across the state. Marketing Manager Bryan Johnson said ZFexpands in S.C. because of the skilled workforce, competitive businessenvironment, major transportation hubs and proximity to customers.
We are eager to build our high-quality, fuel-efficient automatictransmissions in North America to serve our growing roster of customershere, Reckmann said in a news release We believe increasing emphasison fuel economy and our reputation for high quality provide anunprecedented opportunity to grow our business.
“We appreciate the confidence that ZF has placed in our team. It is agreat privilege to participate in an economic development success thatZF has brought to Laurens county and the State of South Carolina” addedDavid Cuda, President and COO of Red Rock Developments
Walbridge Southeast has been ranked number one in building automotive plants since 1988, according to Engineering News-Record.
Red Rock Developments with offices in Columbia and Charlotte NC is focused on single tenantbuild to suit projects and currently has over 1.8 million square feet ofindustrial space under development.
