Changan Auto plans Plymouth facility

A major Chinese automaker is planning to open a research and design center in Plymouth Township, and hire about 100 engineers over several years, as it prepares to break into the global market.

ChangAn Automotive, based in Chongqing, China, will move into about 17,000 square feet of a former Dow Corning facility on Halyard near M-14, said township Supervisor Richard Reaume on Tuesday. The company, also called Chana, is expected to apply for state and local tax incentives; Reaume was to attend a meeting Wednesday, with representatives of ChangAn, Wayne County and the state, at which details were to be discussed.

“We're delighted to have them come in,” said Reaume during Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting.

County Executive Robert Ficano formally announced the plan Tuesday while in China on a trade mission. It is Ficano's sixth trip to China on the county's behalf; ChangAn was also courted in 2009.

“Each mission we embark on strengthens our bond with our Chinese government and business partners, and we continue to see tangible results, ChangAn's investment being the latest,” Ficano said in a press release.

Reaume said ChangAn plans to have 150 total employees within five years. The company is expected to move into the building in January. The former Dow Corning building, with one other occupant, totals about 40,000 square feet; Reaume said ChangAn will have space to expand there.

ChangAn's operation in the township will focus on automotive chassis and noise and vibration, Reaume said. The company is also planning a powertrain facility in Germany, an electronics center in Japan and a design center in Italy, Reaume said.

“The Chinese are just pulling the best of the world” in order to design a “global car,” he said.

ChangAn has several manufacturing facilities in China; the possibility of locating a factory in the U.S. has been discussed, according to a published report.

The location in Plymouth Township will put ChangAn close to the headquarters of one of its major clients, Ford Motor Co., with which it has a joint venture.