Meet Plant Woodruff, BMW’s newest Upstate investment which broke ground Tuesday, June 27.
The $700 million investment will create 300 jobs and support Plant Spartanburg’s plans to produce six models of fully-electric vehicles by 2030. It’s part of a larger $1.7 billion investment — the other $1 billion will prep Plant Spartanburg for electric vehicle production.
“The road to the future begins here in Woodruff,” said president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing Dr. Robert Engelhorn. “Plant Woodruff will be state-of-the-art in terms of sustainability, flexibility, and digitalization.”
The facility
The the 315-acre site located at SC Hwy. 101 will house a one-million-sqft plant with features dedicated to environmental sustainability by:
- Using 100% green energy and eliminating the use of fossil fuels.
- Designing a solar-ready building to support the future installation of a rooftop solar energy system.
- Harvesting rainwater to reduce the plant’s water consumption.
The economic impact
Since it came to SC, BMW has had a $26.7+ billion economic impact, and this latest investment is no different, reaching beyond Plants Woodruff and Spartanburg.
In Woodruff, 5,000+ new homes are under construction or planned for the next few years as the city sees unprecedented growth.
“Woodruff’s future was already bright, but with BMW it will be electric,” Woodruff City Manager Lee Bailey told the Upstate Business Journal.
Beyond the Upstate, Envision AESC will build an $810 million battery cell gigafactory in Florence to support BMW’s operations, creating 1,170 new jobs.
