Spanish automotive supplier Gestamp is planning to build a 460,000-square-foot plant in Macomb County that would employ 390 workers and feed parts to General Motors Co.’s Orion Assembly factory.
The company, whose North American headquarters is in Troy, would occupy the build-to-suit development on a 42-acre plot at 52153 Sierra Drive in Chesterfield Township, according to a site plan submitted to the township. The plan allows for a 300,000-square-foot future expansion.
Site pre-development work is underway for the project, which received planning commission approval late last summer. It still must pass an engineering review and receive a building permit, said Jonathon Palin, director of planning and zoning for the township.
The building will be made up of 450,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space, plus 10,000 square feet of office space. Construction is expected to be complete by the beginning of next year.
Workers at the factory will weld steel blanks to make assemblies for vehicles. The assemblies will be warehoused and shipped to GM’s Orion Assembly, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The automaker delayed production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV at the assembly plant to late 2025, due in part to softer than anticipated demand. Its crosstown competitor Ford Motor Co. is grappling with the same issue, cutting planned production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickups by half this year.
Dramatically lower EV volumes and projections have left suppliers in a lurch and financially vulnerable. EV uncertainty has also imperiled supplier projects around town, such as Lear Corp.’s planned $80 million battery parts plant in Independence Township, which also was to supply Orion Assembly. Build-out of that plant was to have started last spring, but the township hasn’t heard from the supplier in nearly a year, according to a township official.
Work continues on Magna Seating’s planned 300,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills, where the supplier said it will invest $100 million and create 500 jobs to supply Orion Assembly.
The construction cost is $42.5 million for the Gestamp building, which is being developed by Farmington Hills-based JB Donaldson Co., according to the township. Southfield-based FA Studio LLC is listed as the architect. Total planned investment for build-out is unclear.
Gestamp and GM declined to comment.
If completed according to plan, the project would be a major economic development win for Macomb County. Alro Steel Corp. is plotting another big project in the east-side suburbs — a 250,000-square-foot metals distribution plant next to the former Gibraltar Trade Center site in Mount Clemens.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. declined to comment on the Gestamp project or whether it is seeking state incentives.
In addition to its Troy administrative base, Gestamp operates a research and development lab in Auburn Hills, which it opened in 2017. At the time, the company’s total headcount in Michigan stood at 850. It also has manufacturing plants in Chelsea and Mason, where it invested $158 million in 2016. Those plants produce chassis parts and steel stampings for doors, bumpers and other assemblies.
Gestamp had $10.3 billion in revenue in 2022 and nearly 43,000 employees worldwide.
