Saline's JAC Products to add 87 jobs; diversifies into lithium ion batteries and solar panel racks

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

The diversification of JAC Products is a move that is allowing the Saline-based automotive supplier to add dozens of jobs.

The 43-year-old Tier 1 supplier recently received a $572,000 state tax credit over the next five years to help fund its expansion. The deal should mean another 87 jobs, thanks to a $6.2 million project. Most of those jobs will be created in the first few years of the tax credit, which was awarded by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

JAC Products primarily makes automotive exterior parts, such as roof racks. It has recently expanded into manufacturing both lithium ion batteries and solar panel racks. The tax credit helped persuade the company to expand at its work spaces in Saline and Shelby Township instead of its plant in Georgia.

"It (the diversification) will help dampen the cycles in the auto industry," says Dan Smoke, CFO for JAC Products. "They call this a cyclical industry for a reason."

The new expansion will add 30,000 square feet to the company's Saline operations. That's where the bulk of its workforce is located. The company employs 412 people, with about 35 located at its Shelby Township plant and a few engineers in Pontiac.

Source: Dan Smoke, CFO for JAC Products
Writer: Jon Zemke