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Article published Dec 14, 2005
Union County could be on the verge of landing its first BMW Manufacturing Corp. supplier.
August Lapple & Co. could initially bring about 125 jobs to the county and eventually increase that to 200, according to sources familiar with the project.
There are still some wrinkles to be worked out, but an announcement could come as early as this week, the officials told the Herald-Journal.
The German stamping company would invest more than $50 million and would provide body panels for a third model that is expected to be added to BMW's Spartanburg County plant for the 2008 model year.
The project also could require an investment by BMW. The automaker typically owns the dies and molds that its stamping suppliers use on their presses.
The Budd Co. does the stamping for BMW's X5 sports activity vehicle at its plant in Shelbyville, Ky. Stamping for the Z4 roadster is done by Drive Automotive, a division of Magna International, at its facility at the Donaldson Center in Greenville. BMW owns the molds in both of those facilities.
BMW Manufacturing spokesman Bobby Hitt declined to comment on any pending announcement.
"Basically we don't comment on other companies and their business plans," Hitt said.
Stanley Vanderford, head of the Union County Development Board, said he knew nothing about the project.
In addition to its German headquarters, Lapple has facilities in the United States, France, Ireland and South Africa. It employs more than 4,700 people worldwide.
Lapple is a supplier to most automakers, including BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Jaguar.
Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.