Foreign investments boost region

In the past five years, foreign-based companies have invested more than $5 billion into the Chattanooga area region. The biggest projects include:

1. Hanwha Qcells, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is investing $2.5 billion to build solar panel production plants in Dalton and Calhoun, Georgia.

2. Volkswagen, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, announced expansions in 2018 and 2019 totaling $1.14 billion in Chattanooga.

3. Nokian Tyres, based in Nokia, Finland, has invested more than $700 million in its Dayton, Tennessee, tire plant.

4. Wacker Chemie, based in Munich, announced a $200 million expansion of its Charleston chemical plant to make polysilicon products, adding to more than $2 billion invested since 2016.

5. GE Appliances, owned by the Chinese-based Haier, announced two expansions totaling

$161 million to expand its Roper appliance plant in LaFayette, Georgia.

6. Novonix, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, announced in 2021 a $160 million investment in a battery material plant in Chattanooga.

7. Gestamp, an automotive supplier headquartered in Madrid, announced expansions in 2019 and 2020 totaling $143 million in Chattanooga.

8. Nippon Paint, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, is building a $61 million automotive paint plant in East Chattanooga

9. Kordsa Inc., based Kocaeli, Turkey, invested $50 million in the former DuPont nylon plant in Hixson. 10. Sese Industrial Services, headquartered in Zaragoza, Spain, invested $42.1 million in an axle assembly plant to supply VW in Chattanooga.

Source: Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, 2018 to present.