SGL Carbon and BMW Auto Group to Construct Carbon Fiber Facility in Moses Lake
Apr 6, 2010
Theodore Breyer - CEO SGL, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire,
& Friedrich Eichiner - CFO BMW at the April 2010 Joint Press Conference
Carbon fiber manufacturer SGL Group and automaker BMW Group announced today that Moses Lake is the location for a new joint venture carbon fiber manufacturing facility.
Terry Brewer, Executive Director for the Grant County EDC, began working with SGL and BMW in June of 2009 to help bring the carbon fiber facility to Moses Lake. Since June, there have been numerous conference calls, site visits, meetings with local and state agencies, and follow up items that the EDC has worked to address.
“It is gratifying to see all the effort we have put into this project result in a positive announcement for our community,” said Brewer. “We enlisted the support of the City of Moses Lake, Grant County, the Port of Moses Lake, the Department of Commerce, the Governor’s Office, Big Bend Community College, WorkSource, Grant PUD, utility providers, landowners, ecology, and others. Everyone involved worked together to make this a reality.”
The announcement came at a press conference held in Seattle where Robert Koehler, CEO of SGL Group, Theodore Breyer, Deputy CEO of SGL Group, Dr. Friedrich Eichiner CFO of BMW Auto Group, and Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire addressed an audience of over 50 attendees.
Carbon fiber production at an existing SGL facility (copyright SGL Group 2009)
Construction on the first phase of the Moses Lake facility will begin in July, 2010 on 60 acres just east of the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake. The estimated investment for this phase is $100 million with 200 construction workers on site. When completed, the facility will employ 80 people that will produce several thousand tons of carbon fiber each year that will be sent to Germany where it will be woven into fiber sheets and shaped into panels to form the chassis for BMW’s all electric Magacity Vehicle.
Breyer explained that there were dozens of criteria in the site selection process and that Moses Lake met each and every one of those criteria. In the end, the availability of renewable hydropower and competitive energy costs played a key role in the decision to build the facility in Moses Lake. Favorable infrastructure conditions, existing utilities, a skilled labor force and ease of working with the local government were also contributing factors in the decision.
Koehler said that the new facility will be “a milestone in the use of carbon fibers for large scale production in the auto industry,” and that SGL and BMW will work to ensure “that carbon fibers play a revolutionary role in lightweight automotive construction.”
In recent years, carbon fiber has been used in the construction of luxury automobiles but only a few of the components such as the bumpers or the roof are constructed out of the material.
“Lightweight construction is a core aspect for sustainable mobility improving both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,” explained Eichiner. “For the first time we will be able to produce carbon fiber enhanced components in large volumes at competitive costs.”
A spool of carbon fiber similar to what will be
manufactured in Moses Lake
Governor Gregoire expressed her appreciation to SGL and BMW for locating the facility in Washington State and further diversifying the green energy industry the state has already built. She also thanked everyone in the Moses Lake community involved in the project for coming together and working cooperatively to meet the criteria necessary for the facilities needs. The first employees will be hired at the Moses Lake facility during the fourth quarter of 2010. Subsequent phases at the facility have the potential to double the investment to $200 million and bring the total employee count to 200.
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