Auto parts manufacturers vie to supply St. Thomas battery plant

Splitting time now between China and Germany, Marcel Queren is looking forward to spending a little time in London and Southwestern Ontario.

Queren, a business development consultant for a China-based supplier to electric vehicle battery manufacturers, will hit the road this week to tour Southwestern Ontario sites in hope of bringing a factory here to supply Volkswagen's EV battery plant now under construction in St. Thomas.

Queren was among 300 people at a meeting Wednesday in Toronto where Volkswagen hosted companies interested in supplying parts to the automaker's $7-billion Powerco St. Thomas plant scheduled to open in 2027.

“I have a few visits lined up to some potential locations, offering both greenfield or existing facilities,” Queren said after the morning presentation from Powerco.

He said he will scout sites between Toronto and St. Thomas, including London and Kitchener-waterloo. Linghui New Energy, the company he works for, should know within five months if it has a contract from Volkswagen, Queren said.

Linghui New Energy makes “structural components” for batteries including the battery housing and other parts. Queren represents the Chinese company in Germany and Linghui will have to open an Ontario plant if it gets the work.

“It would have to be manufactured here. These are not easy to transport,” Queren said.

He said he agrees with comments by Vic Fedeli, Ontario minister of economic development, job creation and trade, at the conference that suppliers could create thousands more jobs for Ontario in addition to the 3,000 workers expected to staff the St. Thomas plant.

“These have to be manufactured close to the customer. It will definitely help the region grow,” Queren said.

Manufacturers at the Powerco supplier event received a detailed, technical presentation on everything from what the requirements are for making batteries and the supplies they will need to what materials will go into the St. Thomas building.

“This is the start of the journey for the supply chain,” said Andreas Gross, spokesperson for Powerco. “A lot of work has to be done to find suppliers to St. Thomas. The goal of this is to get in touch, explain our way of working with suppliers and build lasting relationships.”

Marin Grbesic, business manager for Narmco, the parts giant out of Windsor, wants to supply battery housings for Powerco. Narmco's steel and aluminum stamping plant now supplies other Volkswagen factories.

Narmco, headquartered in Windsor, has about 2,000 workers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.