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Released May 14, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Founded in 1916 in Detroit, Michigan, the heart of the then-developing U.S. automobile sector, design and construction firm Walbridge (Detroit) gained an expertise in automotive construction that dominates the firm's project activity to this day. Not to say that the company hasn't diversified; in addition to Walbridge's automotive projects, Industrial Info also is tracking data centers and life science projects on which the company is at work. Industrial Info is tracking projects worth a combined $12.9 billion in which Walbridge is playing a role.
While Walbridge's expertise in automotive construction remains unchanged, the locations of these projects have shifted somewhat. Over the years, the U.S. Southeast market region has become another U.S. hotspot for automotive plants, and the largest project on which Walbridge is at work is underway in Tennessee, where Walbridge client Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) is constructing its Blue Oval City complex in Stanton. In addition to a central utility facility, solar array and backup emergency generator, the Stanton Blue Oval project consists of two major components: a grassroot batteries manufacturing plant and an electric vehicle assembly plant, both of which Walbridge launched construction on in 2022.
The lithium-ion battery plant is a joint venture of Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On (Seoul). When completed in 2025 along with the new vehicle assembly line, the facility will begin ramping up to full production of 43 gigawatt-hours of batteries per year. Ford intends the Tennessee complex to be a completely new type of plant for the production of electric vehicles (EVs), and joining the battery plant will be a 4 million-square-foot assembly plant for EVs including the all-electric Ford F series of pickup trucks. Walbridge is expected to complete both plants by mid-2025. The facility is expected to create about 6,000 jobs. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing by the related project reports.
Most of the other automobile projects involving Walbridge are in the Great Lakes region in locations including Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Walbridge is at work on another Ford project in Marshall, Michigan, for another battery plant. Walbridge is heading up multiple subcontractors for the construction of the 1.2 million-square foot battery production plant and 606,000-square-foot battery pack assembly plant. Construction kicked off toward the close of last year, and the facility is expected to be completed in early 2026, when it will begin production of 35 gigawatt-hours of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which don't use cobalt and provide a longer life cycle than other lithium-ion battery chemistries. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Walbridge also is at work upgrading General Motors Company's (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan) plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, where Walbridge is underway with more than 1.2 million square feet of construction to the vehicle assembly plant and paint shop. In addition, Walbridge is underway with other upgrades to connect the new plant construction. Construction began in 2022 and is expected to last into the third quarter of this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
But Walbridge's construction expertise isn't confined to the automobile sector. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) has selected Walbridge for general contracting services for a data center in San Antonio, Texas. Walbridge completed the initial grassroot on two buildings totaling more than 250,000 square feet late last year. The contractor is now gearing up to start a Phase II expansion that will add another 46,000 square feet by late 2024 or early 2025. A larger expansion, adding 245,000 square feet, is planned to kick off a couple of years later. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
While taking a distant second place in terms of project value for Walbridge when compared with the manufacturing sector, the company is underway with a couple of life science projects in its home state. Construction on the larger of these has been underway since early last year and entails constructing a new research and testing facility for animal care therapeutic products for Northern Biomedical Research Incorporated (Norton Shores, Michigan) and is expected to be completed later this year in Muskegon, Michigan. Walbridge is providing general contracting services on another project in Riverview involving the expansion of a plant that manufactures high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients, which is expected to wrap up in early 2026. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the Muskegon and Riverview projects.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
While Walbridge's expertise in automotive construction remains unchanged, the locations of these projects have shifted somewhat. Over the years, the U.S. Southeast market region has become another U.S. hotspot for automotive plants, and the largest project on which Walbridge is at work is underway in Tennessee, where Walbridge client Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) is constructing its Blue Oval City complex in Stanton. In addition to a central utility facility, solar array and backup emergency generator, the Stanton Blue Oval project consists of two major components: a grassroot batteries manufacturing plant and an electric vehicle assembly plant, both of which Walbridge launched construction on in 2022.
The lithium-ion battery plant is a joint venture of Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On (Seoul). When completed in 2025 along with the new vehicle assembly line, the facility will begin ramping up to full production of 43 gigawatt-hours of batteries per year. Ford intends the Tennessee complex to be a completely new type of plant for the production of electric vehicles (EVs), and joining the battery plant will be a 4 million-square-foot assembly plant for EVs including the all-electric Ford F series of pickup trucks. Walbridge is expected to complete both plants by mid-2025. The facility is expected to create about 6,000 jobs. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more by viewing by the related project reports.
Most of the other automobile projects involving Walbridge are in the Great Lakes region in locations including Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Walbridge is at work on another Ford project in Marshall, Michigan, for another battery plant. Walbridge is heading up multiple subcontractors for the construction of the 1.2 million-square foot battery production plant and 606,000-square-foot battery pack assembly plant. Construction kicked off toward the close of last year, and the facility is expected to be completed in early 2026, when it will begin production of 35 gigawatt-hours of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which don't use cobalt and provide a longer life cycle than other lithium-ion battery chemistries. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Walbridge also is at work upgrading General Motors Company's (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan) plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, where Walbridge is underway with more than 1.2 million square feet of construction to the vehicle assembly plant and paint shop. In addition, Walbridge is underway with other upgrades to connect the new plant construction. Construction began in 2022 and is expected to last into the third quarter of this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
But Walbridge's construction expertise isn't confined to the automobile sector. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) has selected Walbridge for general contracting services for a data center in San Antonio, Texas. Walbridge completed the initial grassroot on two buildings totaling more than 250,000 square feet late last year. The contractor is now gearing up to start a Phase II expansion that will add another 46,000 square feet by late 2024 or early 2025. A larger expansion, adding 245,000 square feet, is planned to kick off a couple of years later. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
While taking a distant second place in terms of project value for Walbridge when compared with the manufacturing sector, the company is underway with a couple of life science projects in its home state. Construction on the larger of these has been underway since early last year and entails constructing a new research and testing facility for animal care therapeutic products for Northern Biomedical Research Incorporated (Norton Shores, Michigan) and is expected to be completed later this year in Muskegon, Michigan. Walbridge is providing general contracting services on another project in Riverview involving the expansion of a plant that manufactures high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients, which is expected to wrap up in early 2026. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the Muskegon and Riverview projects.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
