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After halting construction of a planned $5 billion factory in Georgia, Rivian Automotive is producing the first line of its new midsize SUV at an existing factory in Normal, Illinois. In March, the California-based automaker said the shift would accelerate production of the R2 model.
Now, Rivian has received an $827 million incentive package from the State of Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) that will allow the company to expand operations at the Normal plant. The funds will go towards improvement in public infrastructure, job training programs for Rivian’s workforce, and efforts to bolster production of R2.
In a press release, RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO, expressed gratitude toward the state of Illinois for its support.
“The support from the state will allow us to quickly bring our midsize SUV, R2, to market and provide even greater consumer choice for EVs,” Scaringe said in the release. “Governor Pritzker has always been a strong advocate for providing economic opportunities for Illinois residents and business owners alike. We look forward to continuing our close partnership and building upon the success we have enjoyed.”
The investment will create more than 550 new, full-time jobs over the next 5 years to support R2 SUV manufacturing. Workers will be paid at least 120 percent of the average wage of similar job classification in McLean County, which is an estimated minimum salary of $51,174. The funds will also expand total capacity for the Normal facility to 215,000 units per year.
According to a press release, the company selected Normal for its expansion due to competitive incentives and state support for the R2 project as well as the state’s strong workforce and infrastructure access to suppliers.
“Rivian had many options for its R2 production and its decision to expand in Illinois speaks volumes to the state’s workforce and the strong EV ecosystem Illinois is creating,” DCEO Director Kristin Richards said in the release. “Rivian’s expansion cements our partnership and will bolster the state’s already strong supply chain and help attract and retain other industry heavy hitters while creating good-paying clean energy jobs for Illinoisans.”
Rivian is based in Irvine, California, with facilities in Palto Alto and Carson; Plymouth, Michigan; Burnaby, British Columbia; Witmann, Arizona; Woking, England; and Belgrade, Serbia. Behind the company’s innovative leaders like Scaringe, Anisa Kamadoli Costa (chief sustainability officer), and Frank Klein (chief operating officer), stand strong teams and several senior leaders. That includes Anthony Sanger, who serves as vice president of production facilities and leads the development of manufacturing facilities and infrastructure.
The DCEO funds aren’t the only substantive investments Rivian has been awarded this year. German carmaker Volkswagen announced that it’s teaming up with Rivian to create “next generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures” to be used in both companies’ future EVs, according to Yahoo Finance. The venture will use Rivian’s zonal hardware design and platform as the foundation of future vehicles. The company’s electrical architecture expertise will also play a critical role. After the announcement was made June 26, Rivian’s shares were up 25 percent in early trading.
Kahua is reinventing the way companies build, deliver, and manage their capital assets. The world’s leading construction organizations use Kahua’s collaborative construction management solutions to improve efficiency, lower costs, and reduce risk, enabling high performing assets to be delivered on time and on budget.
At Rivian, Tony Sanger is challenged to deliver a large scale, complex facility in an aggressive time frame. Kahua is enabling Tony to control costs and provide transparency to his funding stakeholders. Kahua is proud to partner with Tony to bring their electric vehicles to market at scale, creating wins for Rivian, their customers, and the environment.
Clayco, a full-service, turnkey real estate development, architecture, engineering, and construction firm, is thrilled to announce the company was chosen by US electric automaker Rivian to construct a cutting-edge electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant at Stanton Springs, Georgia. This collaboration demonstrates Clayco and Rivian’s shared vision for a greener future. Rivian, an innovative American automaker at the forefront of the EV industry, is setting out to create an 1,800-acre complex to advance sustainable transportation. Dedicated to preserving the natural world for future generations, Rivian is leading by example, not just through its vehicles but also its manufacturing facilities.
