SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Seven automotive parts makers in the Upstate will expand to supply Scout Motors, putting more than $82 million into new work and adding about 200 jobs across Spartanburg, Duncan and Piedmont, the automaker announced Wednesday.
The plans were laid out at OneSpartanburg Inc., with Gov. Henry McMaster, state Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey and Congressman William Timmons on hand alongside supplier executives.
Spartanburg Steel carries the largest piece of the package, at $40 million and 60 jobs for stamping work. KV Final, also in Spartanburg, plans $14 million and 50 jobs on stamped parts, while Magna DRIVE in Piedmont will spend $15 million and hire 30 people for exterior panel stampings and assemblies.
Four smaller expansions fill out the list. Röchling Automotive in Duncan will make wheel-arch liners and active grille shutters, Magna Mirrors in Spartanburg will build exterior mirrors and Cooper Standard in Spartanburg will produce glass sealing systems, each with roughly 15 new jobs. Bant Boru in Duncan plans a $270,000 investment and 15 jobs making brake lines.
The parts will feed the Scout Traveler, a full-size SUV, and the Scout Terra pickup, both slated for assembly at the company plant in Blythewood northeast of Columbia.
That $2 billion production center was announced in March 2023 and is projected to employ more than 4,000 people on a permanent basis. At full speed, the company says, it could turn out up to 200,000 vehicles a year, or about 40 an hour.
Scout is also building a supplier park on the Blythewood site, a $300 million addition expected to support roughly 1,000 more supplier jobs. Each truck is planned with a choice of an extended-range gasoline-assisted Harvester setup or a fully electric drivetrain.
The Upstate deals add to an earlier supplier commitment in the Midlands, where Sodecia Aapico announced a $120 million plant in Orangeburg County to make ladder frames for Scout vehicles with up to 392 jobs.
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