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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Germany-based STS Group AG Plans Salem, Virginia, North American Headquarters

03/14/2023
Germany-based STS Group AG, a leading global supplier of interior and exterior parts for commercial and personal vehicles, will establish its North American headquarters and manufacturing operation in the former GE building in Salem, Virginia. The $32 million project is expected to create 119 jobs.

Operating as STS Group North America, the new facility will supply commercial truck assembly operations by Volvo Trucks in Pulaski County as well as other truck and automotive facilities throughout the Midwest and Southeastern U.S. markets. The company will upfit approximately 200,000-square-feet of the existing space and construct a 32,000-square-foot addition. The project will create 119 new jobs.

“Salem is a perfect base for STS Group to start its footprint in the USA, following existing customers locally and extending the customer portfolio,” said Alberto Buniato, CEO of STS Group. “On top of a perfect existing location in a suitable industrial cluster, we were delighted to find very attentive and helpful support from the City of Salem, Roanoke Regional Partnership, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with the City of Salem and the Roanoke Regional Partnership to secure the project. Governor Youngkin approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Salem with the project.

“It was a priority to keep STS Group’s planned operation in the Commonwealth, boosting our automotive manufacturing sector and foreign direct investment,” noted Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “The GE facility has remained vacant since 2019 and will now be revived as a North American headquarters and manufacturing operation that complements the booming automotive cluster in the Roanoke region, a tremendous win for the City of Salem, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and STS Group.”

Support for STS Group’s job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by VEDP in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners, with funding support from the Governor’s administration and the Virginia General Assembly.

Launched in 2019, the program accelerates new facility start-ups through the direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are fully customized to a company’s unique products, processes, equipment, standards, and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to work with STS Group and to welcome this company to our diverse automotive manufacturing cluster,” added John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “STS Group effectively adds a new product to the regional supply chain related to automotive and heavy truck manufacturing and further solidifies the regional value proposition for auto-related manufacturing.”

STS Group AG, headquartered in Hagen, Germany, develops, manufactures, and supplies products and solutions for components made of plastic or composite material (“hard trim products”) for the automobile and trucking industries. STS Group’s customer base includes a number of major automobile and commercial vehicle producers. The company operates 12 plants in four countries on three continents, with production facilities in its key regional markets of Europe, China, and the Americas.

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