A Chinese-based manufacturer will invest $2 billion in Illinois, bringing 2,600 jobs to Kankakee County as part of the state’s largest electric-vehicle battery production investment.
Gotion, which has sites in California, Ohio, Germany, China, Japan, and Singapore, selected the Village of Manteno for its lithium battery plant.
Gov. JB Pritzker said Gotion’s expansion to Illinois shows that the state is “ready to be a player on the world stage.”
Employment opportunities at the facility are set in two phases – 1,651 in Phase 1 and 1,000 in Phase 2 – and average wages are expected at $55,000 annually.
“We know the company expects to invest a lot of resources into training employees who will be well-versed in this high-tech market,” Manteno Mayor Timothy Nugent said. “This is the way the future is going. I am glad Kankakee County can be a part of it.”
In addition to the battery production, Gotion “expects to incorporate pack production and energy storage via solar power,” according to a news release from the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County.
Various incentives, including the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois Program, helped bring the company to Kankakee County. A manufacturing training academy and workforce grants also are part of the deal.
Nugent said he anticipates tax revenue double what the site – a former Kmart warehouse – produces.