By Dawn Kent -- The Birmingham News
News file/Michelle CampbellWorkers at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance build an M-Class SUV. They will begin building the C-Class in 2014.
BROOKWOOD -- Friedrich Boysen GmbH & Co. KG, a German auto supplier, plans to build a $34.2 million plant in Tuscaloosa County that will employ about 100 people and supply exhaust systems for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.
The company made the announcement at a board meeting of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority.
Construction on the 120,000-square-foot plant in Brookwood is expected to begin this month.
Mercedes will begin building the C-Class at its Vance auto factory in 2014. The move will create 1,000 jobs there, but it also is creating jobs in new supplier projects like Boysen.
"This announcement is a testament to the strong workforce and the business-friendly climate that we offer here in Alabama," Gov. Robert Bentley said in a prepared statement.
Dara Longgrear, executive director of the TCIDA, said today's announcement is the culmination of a team effort between TCIDA, Mercedes-Benz and other economic development groups.
The Boysen Group has 1,900 employees at 10 locations in Germany and beyond. Its main customers are Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Daimler, Mercedes' parent company.