VANCE, Ala. (Aug. 13)—TW Fitting N.A. L.L.C., a Groupe Michelin/Continental A.G. joint venture, is setting up a plant in Vance to supply Mercedes-Benz of America Inc. with mounted tire/wheel assemblies.
TW Fitting is a unit of Eurofit, a Belgian subsidiary of Michelin Continental Projects, a 50-50 Michelin-Continental joint venture. This is the first North American factory for Eurofit, which operates several tire/wheel assembly plants in Europe.
The new company will occupy half of a $10 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. facility under construction in the Legacy Industrial Campus in rural Tuscaloosa County near Vance close to the Mercedes plant where the M-class sport-utility vehicle is assembled. Mercedes is doubling the size of its operation in Vance to 160,000 vehicles annually, including assembly of the new Grand Sport Tourer and the next-generation M-class.
The TW Fitting operation will create 35 jobs initially, according to the Tuscaloosa Industrial Development Authority, which has approved tax abatements for the project totaling $453,581. Construction should be completed by September, the authority said.