German lithium-ion manufacturer BMZ has selected a new location in Virginia Beach, where it is currently headquartered, to expand its manufacturing operations.
BMZ— a “global leader of lithium-ion battery and charging systems”— opened its US headquarters at a 16,500 sq. ft. facility on Lishelle Road, Virginia Beach in 2011.
The new location on Miller Store Road offers “24,000 sq. ft. of class B industrial warehouse space”, with the additional space being used to accommodate increased production needs.
BMZ’s US facility handles “North American sales, assembly, distribution, research and development of lithium-ion battery units for a variety of industry sectors.”
The Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority has approved a grant of US$170,000 for the project, based on BMZ’s own capital investment ($2.8 million) and the number of new jobs created by the expansion (at least 30 within two years, with the current 21 retained).
“Moving to the new premises is crucial in order to meet our sales target of $50 million in 2021, because we will assemble most of our batteries in Virginia Beach,” said Kai Schoeffler, General Manager of BMZ USA. “BMZ USA will achieve this by investing in automated production lines that will allow the company to provide its North American customers with high quality products at competitive prices.”
It appears that BMZ are investing on both sides of the pond: as reported in BEST Battery Briefing, BMZ recently took control of fellow German lithium-ion developer and producer, TerraE, as part of an effort to launch battery cells production in Germany by 2020.
