Staff Reports 

The Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC), charged with promoting and enhancing quality of life in Greenville County by facilitating job growth and investment, on Wednesday June 16, 2021, announced Gissing North America LLC, a leading manufacturer of acoustic systems for the automotive industry, will establish operations in Greenville County, making an $18.7 million capital investment and creating 116 jobs.

Founded in 2016, Gissing North America is based in Bingham Farms, Mich., and is a subsidiary of Wuxi Gissing Auto Parts Co., Ltd, headquartered in Wuxi, China. 

The company operates from 14 facilities around the world. It will establish operations in the new Fox Hill Business Park in Fountain Inn, which was announced a year ago at the 2020 GADC annual meeting.

“We are excited in joining Greenville County to service current and prospective customers in the Southeast,” said Claudio Calado, CEO of Gissing North America. “From the onset, we were welcomed and thank the GADC and SC Commerce for their incredible support and diligence that facilitated our site selection process.

“We chose Greenville County, in general, and Fountain Inn, in specific, as our new home to expand our North American operations due to its infrastructure, economic environment and quality of life it offers our future associates. At Gissing we have an “affinity for mobility” and look forward to bringing it to Greenville County.”

The company’s announcement coincided with GADC’s 20-year celebration virtual meeting, conducted online for the second straight year as South Carolina continues to fully emerge from Covid-19. 

The meeting  drew hundreds of business and political leaders and featured congratulatory comments by Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, U.S. Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, U.S. Representatives William Timmons and Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt, and others.

Gissing North America, which also has a facility in Sumter among six current U.S. locations, is a supplier of acoustic solutions comprising drivetrain and thermal systems, overhead systems, exterior systems, cargo management systems, carpet and interior acoustic systems to automotive manufacturers.

Company officials say their portfolio of components and solutions reduces noise, vibration and harshness in vehicles, and is used by such automotive manufacturers as BMW, Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda, among other brands.

Gissing will become the first tenant in the first building, at the new Fox Hill Business Park, located on 172 acres in the city of Fountain Inn and being brought to life by The Sudler Companies, a family- and veteran-owned and operated development firm based in Chatham, N.J. 

Announced at the 2020 GADC virtual meeting, the park broke ground days after that event.

The Sudler Companies owns and manages over 9 million square feet of commercial real estate across the United States, with an additional 4 million square feet of industrial space under development in the Southeast. 

Sudler entities also own a multi-family apartment portfolio of around 10,000 units throughout the United States.  

The Greenville Area Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization established by Greenville County Council to promote and enhance the economic growth and development of Greenville County.

Since its founding in 2001, GADC efforts have resulted in creation of over 30,000 new jobs and nearly $6 billion in capital investment in Greenville County, generating an economic impact for the county of more than $6 billion annually.