The president and CEO of Invest WindsorEssex is already pursuing supply chain companies now that Windsor has secured a nearly $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant.
LG Energy Solution and Stellantis announced the joint venture Wednesday to produce leading edge lithium-ion battery cells and modules to meet a significant portion of Stellantis’ vehicle production requirements in North America.
Stephen MacKenzie says this is "the end of the beginning and the beginning of the rest" as they are already hosting and promoting projects for supply chain companies.
He says they're also making sure our existing companies are represented.
"Work with them, what do they have to do to adjust and adapt so maybe they can supply this future industry," he says. "So we'll be very, very busy working with existing companies, working with entrepreneurs and folks with tech to create companies and attracting companies."
Plant construction activities at the 220-acre site on Twins Oaks Drive near Banwell Road, near the EC Row Expressway, are scheduled to begin later this year, with production operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2024.
The facility will be operational by 2025, employing 2,500 people.
The investment is the largest in the automotive manufacturing history of Ontario.
With files from Rob Hindi