Vuteq USA, a manufacturer of plastic injected parts for the automotive industry, plans to begin construction on a $60 million production facility in Huntsville, Ala., in October. When the plant opens sometime in 2021, it will employ approximately 200 people. Vuteq is the most recent in a string of car part suppliers to announce plans to begin operations in Huntsville—all with the primary purpose of serving the still-under-construction Mazda Toyota USA manufacturing plant.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced Vuteq’s plans late last month. The Japanese company augments a burgeoning auto sector in the state, she said. “The automotive cluster growing around Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA. is gaining another significant addition with Vuteq’s decision to open a manufacturing facility in Huntsville.”
The Mazda Toyota USA Ecosystem
The shared auto production facility between Mazda and Toyota is still under development on a 2,500-acre tract in the Huntsville area. When completed, the total investment is expected to exceed $1.6 billion. Combined, the two companies will employ 4,000 people and churn out some 300,000 vehicles annually.
Unsurprisingly, the large manufacturing center has proved a powerful draw for the adjacent industries that feed its production facilities. Vuteq is the fifth manufacturer of auto components to announce development plans for Huntsville. By the time the Mazda Toyota project comes online in 2021, total investment in Alabama from these satellite producers is expected to total $440 million and account for an additional1,700 jobs.
Vuteq’s Time Line and Schedule
Vuteq aims for its launch to roughly mirror that of the broader Mazda Toyota project. While construction is officially set to begin in October, the facility won’t be completed until fall 2020. At that point, Vuteq will ramp up its hiring efforts and run production trials of its plastic molds and equipment. The company hopes to be at full production capacity by the time the Mazda Toyota facility is up and running in 2021.