JR Automation, a Hitachi group company and global integrator of custom automated systems for manufacturing and distribution environments, announced a $72.8 million investment to create a global headquarters in Zeeland, Michigan.
The company plans to break ground on the new headquarters on September 17, with construction expected to end by early 2027.
The 286,000-square-foot facility will include 76,000 square feet of office space and 210,000 square feet dedicated to the assembly of customer automation projects. The headquarters will also bring together approximately 350 employees from several West Michigan locations into one campus.
The new headquarters will feature modern spaces for collaboration with global customers and demonstrations of the latest automation technologies.
It will include amenities such as an on-site fitness center and workspaces that inspire sustainable practices and connection to the outdoors, all to help attract and retain leading talent. The 45-acre campus will also feature walkable, bikeable paved paths integrated into an ecologically restored native prairie landscape.
The site’s focus will include native prairie for biodiversity, on-site solar panels and a goal to have baseline facility operations fully powered by renewables.
Michigan won the project over South Carolina, where JR Automation operates another facility. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) stated that securing the global headquarters project for JR Automation would help the region achieve its goal of becoming a “smart” manufacturing hub.
The company first introduced the project to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and MEDC CEO Quentin Messer, Jr., at Select USA 2024, an annual conference aimed at promoting foreign direct investment into the U.S.
“This new headquarters reflects Hitachi’s commitment to advancing smart manufacturing,” said Charlie Takeuchi, Vice President and Executive Officer of Hitachi and President and Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi Americas, Ltd. “It will serve as a global catalyst for advancement of integrated automation worldwide.”
Established in 1980, JR Automation supports a variety of industries, including automotive, life sciences, e-mobility and energy storage. Hitachi acquired the company in 2019.
JR Automation employs 941 people across its Michigan sites and operates more than 20 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Hitachi, a more than $100 billion enterprise, oversees over 600 companies.