Zhitong Finance App News, Minshi Group (00425) announced that on August 3, 2026, the Group and Gadsden (Gadsden) together held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Group's new production plant in Gadsden (this project).
The project will be developed on a plot of about 400 acres of land originally occupied by Republic Steel and Gulf States Steel (this factory area). The Group expects to invest a total of approximately US$430 million in installments in this project. When the project is completed and fully put into operation, it is expected to create more than 1,300 jobs and become the Group's largest factory area in the world.
Representatives from the Group, the U.S. Congress, Alabama, Gadsden, Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority, and other local stakeholders attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Group believes that the foundation of this project is an important milestone in its continued development. The project will establish a flagship production base for the Group's further development in the US and demonstrate the Group's commitment to expanding its local production layout and serving customers in the region.
The project marks another important step in the Group's global development. It is expected that the first phase of production capacity will be put into operation in 2027. Since the acquisition of the plant in March 2026, the Group has promoted the preparation and reconstruction of the plant to transform it into a modern automotive manufacturing plant.
The project is designed to reflect a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and uses sustainable manufacturing processes to minimize the ecological footprint. The project is expected to help boost employment, industrial development, and the continued revitalization of the plant as a former steel mill site, as well as overall economic growth in Gadsden, Etowah County, and even Northeast Alabama.
The Group mainly has two major businesses, namely research and development (R&D), production and sales of automotive parts and tooling molds. The Group's auto parts business mainly includes products such as metal and trim, plastic parts, aluminum parts, and battery cases. The tooling mold business mainly includes all kinds of molds, inspection tools and jigs in the development, processing and production of automotive exterior parts and body structural parts. The Group is also actively developing new tracks and products, and is concentrating on developing the second growth curve. The Group focuses on research and development in new fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, low-altitude economy, and intelligent mobility. As a global supplier, the Group has now carried out R&D, design, production and sales network layout in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Group has initiated highly vertically integrated production capacity planning and feasibility analysis in this plant area, involving all four major product lines (product lines) of the Group, namely body structure product line, plastic parts product line, aluminum product line, and metal and trim product line. The Group has also planned production capacity for new track-related businesses in the factory area in accordance with customer requirements and potential new order opportunities. The board of directors believes that the project will further strengthen the Group's manufacturing layout in North America, enhance its ability to provide customers with local production and services in the traditional auto parts business and new product fields, thereby helping the Group's long-term business development in the region. The project is also expected to help promote the redevelopment of the plant and create broader economic opportunities for Gadsden, Etowah County, and even northeastern Alabama.