What’s happening: Tier 1 auto supplier AGS Automotive Systems is expanding its operations in Sterling Heights, and a $900,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will help them do just that. The estimated $20 million investment by AGS is expected to create 120 new jobs in Sterling Heights.

Who they are: AGS Automotive Systems acquired its current site in Sterling Heights in 2012 and has made significant investments in the facilities since then. The Toronto, Ontario-based company first opened as a printing equipment repair shop in 1947 before eventually manufacturing bumpers for the automotive industry beginning in 1974. The company currently employs 598 workers in Michigan.

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What they’re building: On the strength of their entrance into the high-tech bumper sector after winning an autonomous vehicle-related contract in 2019, AGS will build up to 235,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space at its Sterling Heights site and create 120 new jobs. Previous investment in Sterling Heights includes job-creating expansions in 2017, 2019, and 2021, this after their initial investment in 2012.

Current career opportunities are available online.

What they’re saying: “AGS Automotive Systems has continued to grow since it chose to establish U.S. operations in Macomb County,” Vicky Rowinski, director, Macomb County Planning and Economic Development, says in a statement. “As a recent recipient of a Macomb Business Award, we are proud to support their expansion and to see their ongoing efforts to attract and retain a skilled and talented local workforce.”

Additional support: For their part, the City of Sterling Heights is offering AGS a 50-percent property tax abatement in support of the project.

“Sterling Heights is known as a welcoming, business-friendly community. It’s a reputation and culture we’ve worked long and hard to build,” Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor says in a statement. “The proof in the pudding is when we see successful companies like AGS choosing to stay and expand right here in our city, despite some robust competition from other parts of the country and world. Businesses know we have all the assets they need to thrive in Sterling Heights.”

AGS Automotive Systems is located at 6640 Sterling Dr. in Sterling Heights.

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