South Korean company to invest $18 million in Georgia plant to make heaters for electric vehicles

DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — A South Korean company will open an $18 million plant in Georgia to build heaters for electric vehicles.

Woory Industrial Co., based in Yongin, South Korea, said Wednesday that it would open the plant in Dublin, Georgia, in November, hiring 130 people.

The company says it will make electric heaters and control units for electric and internal combustion automakers.

It’s Woory’s first U.S. manufacturing location. The company has existing factories in South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Slovakia and Mexico.

Woory says it has been developing electric heaters over the last 10 years with hopes of becoming a leader in the market. Heaters are needed in cold weather not only to keep passengers warm, but to keep electric batteries warm for better performance.

Woory is the ninth supplier to locate in the region after Hyundai said in 2022 that it would build a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, Georgia. The site could grow to 8,100 employees and is slated to begin producing vehicles in 2025.

Suppliers have pledged to invest more than $2 billion and to hire nearly 4,700 people.

Woory could qualify for $2.6 million in state income tax credits, at $4,000 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The state will also pay to train workers. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from Dublin and Laurens County.