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A Canadian electric vehicle charging manufacturer announced plans Tuesday to build its latest plant not in Windsor, but just the other side of the border in a bid to expand its American presence.
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FLO, the Quebec City-based charging company, said the $3-million facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. will be its first in the United States.
“The future of EVs is in Michigan,” said FLO CEO Louis Tremblay. “We are proud to announce our facility today — our first in the US — that will not only create jobs for Michiganders, but also help meet rising demand for smart, reliable charging stations, and to continue to expand the FLO network across the USA”
The move is expected to create about 730 direct and indirect jobs — including 500 factory jobs — through 2028, officials said, in an announcement with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In response to a question from the Star, an FLO spokesperson said the decision to locate the plant in the United States and not at home in Windsor, was “strategic.”
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“With this investment, our aim is to increase our presence in the US market, which can be challenging to access, due in part to protectionist measures,” said Frédérique Bouchard, FLO’s public affairs specialist.
Bouchard said the company doesn’t have any plans to open a plant in Windsor in the foreseeable future, but said it’s a “proudly Canadian” company that has made significant investments in Canada over the last year, including doubling the size of production facilities and research and development centers.
FLO’s facility in Auburn Hills will also include a testing lab, officials noted in a press release. The location in Michigan puts the plant near “leading American car manufacturers” and helps the company align with new EVs entering the market.
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According to the US Department of Energy, sales of new EVs rose in the United States by 85 per cent in the last two years, and more than half of new car sales are expected to be EVs by 2030.
FLO’s facility in Auburn Hills is expected to produce 250,000 EV chargers specifically for the US market by 2028.
FLO, headquartered in Quebec City with manufacturing facilities in Shawinigan, produces chargers for both single-family residential and multi-family residential buildings, as well as building a charging network across the country.
In Canada, Windsor is fast becoming a hub for new auto and EV investments, with a South Korean company announcing new plans for a feeder company in recent days, and a recent Stellantis announcement the company would produce its STLA vehicles in Windsor, relocating them from Brampton.
In March, Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions announced a $5-billion plan for a new battery plant in Windsor.