Glass Maker Making $1b US Investment

Chinese investment in the American automotive industry continues to grow as a subsidiary of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, the world's leading automotive glass manufacturing company, will invest $1 billion in facilities in the US.

Fuyao celebrated the grand opening of its newest US facility in Moraine, Ohio, on Oct 7, and also unveiled plans to transform a building in Plymouth, Michigan, into an automotive glass plant and research-and-development (R&D) center.

"Today's grand opening in Moraine is the culmination of a monumental undertaking by Fuyao and our partners," Chairman Cho Tak Wong of Fuyao Glass Industry Group said in a statement. "We are proud of our work in Ohio, in the heart of the US auto corridor, and are highly committed to supporting the growth of the North American automotive market."

Upon completion, the 116-acre Moraine facility, which is housed in a former General Motors" assembly plant near Dayton, Ohio, will be the largest glass-fabrication plant in the world with the capacity to produce 4 million automotive car sets and 4 million automotive replacement glass windshields each year. Currently employing 2,000, Fuyao expects that number to grow to 2,300 to 2,500 by the end of 2017.

In the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, Fuyao will remodel a 528,000-square-foot plant and expects to create about 450 jobs there within two years and about 950 within three years as it consolidates R&D operations, said John Buzuvis, community development director for Plymouth, according to Crain's Detroit.

The Plymouth facility will be used for the final processing of automotive glass, such as windshields, from Fuyao plants in Ohio and Canada.

"Fuyao Group started its American journey in Michigan in 2009, near Detroit. There are a lot of great automotive companies coming out of China to North America and they recognize that the center of the North American automotive industry, and the greatest concentration of automotive talent, is in Michigan. (The state) is a place these Chinese automotive players need to be as they enter the US," Brian Connors, executive director of the Michigan-China Innovation Center in Detroit, said in an email.

"(This is) another example of Chinese companies once they have a footprint in southeast Michigan, are eager to expand, invest more and create new jobs and opportunities in our region," Jerry Xu, president of the Detroit Chinese Business Association, said in an email.

Connors is hopeful that Chinese investment in Michigan's auto sector can be duplicated in other segments of the state's economy.

"In China, the keys are guanxi - relationships, and koubei - word-of-mouth reputations. As more Chinese companies find success and happiness in Michigan, they will tell their friends, and more may wish to come. Already we're seeing great Chinese investments in insurance, education, real estate and other sectors," Connors said.

"Fuyao's goal is to provide the highest quality products and outstanding service to our customers," said John Gauthier, president of Fuyao Glass America, in a statement. "We are thrilled to receive strong support from the wider Fuyao community and look forward to building on this foundation of innovation and success."

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com