November 30, 2017

Brose to invest $105 million, add 300 jobs in Auburn Hills, New Boston

By Dustin Walsh

Brose North America Inc. is further expanding its Southeast Michigan operations.

The U.S. subsidiary of Germany’s Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG plans to invest $105 million over five years at its U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills and its New Boston manufacturing plant, adding 300 jobs. The new investment dovetails on a previous investment plan announced in 2014, totaling nearly $202.6 million and 775 jobs.

The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved performance-based grants of $2.7 million Tuesday to support the expansion, on top of a $4.25 million grant in 2014. To date, the company has exceeded its previous hiring milestones and has hired 229 jobs linked to the 2014 grant, according to a memo by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

New contracts from local automakers caused the need for expansion and new hires, according to the MEDC memo. Its customers include Ford Motor Co., FCA US LLC, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. The newly-created jobs will mostly include skilled operators and production line technicians at the New Boston plant and testing technicians and technical support professionals at is headquarters in Auburn Hills, according to the memo. The auto supplier also plans to invest in new equipment for the paint, weld and track assemblies for seat structures.

Brose also operates a plant in Warren.

Brose generated about $7.2 billion in revenue in 2016, with $1.6 billion coming from its North American operations.