Good news, when also small steps…please read the Greenville News published article…Company with Union factory makes recruiting stop Thursday in Greenville

Published: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 – 2:00 am By Jenny Munro Business Writer jmunro@greenvillenews.com

Gestamp Automocion LLC, which finalized its purchase of LSP Automotive in Union County on Oct. 1, is holding a Greenville job fair Thursday as it expands in support of the 2010 launch of the next generation BMW X3. The X3 sports activity vehicle is currently built in Austria, but production is moving to BMW Manufacturing Co. in Greer next year. BMW is nearing completion of a $750 million expansion, including a new assembly facility and expanded paint shop. The X3 will be built in the new facility while the X5 sports activity vehicle and the X6 sports activity coupe will be built in the original assembly area. Gestamp’s Union facility employs about 135 hourly and salaried employees and plans to hire about 40 workers over the next year. The new positions, needed to support BMW’s production of the X3, will include production manager, CNC operator, tool and die repair, controls engineer, tooling engineer, continuous improvement program engineer, cost accountant and quality engineer. The job fair will be held Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the Greenville Marriott. Resumes will be accepted at the event, said Clay Cronin, spokesman. Also, information about specific openings can be found on CareerBuilder.com. Applications also will be posted at Workforce Investment Board offices in Spartanburg, Gaffney and Union. Advertisement Gestamp is a Spanish stamping company with 75 worldwide manufacturing operations. The purchase included the 395,000-square-foot factory north of Union on U.S. 176. The plant began operations in 2007 and makes large panels for BMW’s vehicles. The Union plant is dedicated to BMW. The company also is building a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., to support Volkswagen production. The North American Division now has eight plants in Alabama, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mexico. Gestamp Automocion develops and manufactures metal components and structural systems for the automotive industry in Spain and internationally. The company was founded in 1988 and is based in Abadino, Spain.