Ground broken for BMW parts plant at Moses Lake

Gov. Chris Gregoire and other officials broke ground today on a carbon fiber plant at Moses Lake that will make parts for a BMW electric car.
Plans were announced in April by SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, a joint venture backed by BMW Group and SGL Group, a European carbon fiber maker. It was drawn to central Washington’s potato country by cheap and sustainable hydropower.
The company is spending $100 million on the first phase of the factory. It will support about 200 construction jobs and initially employ 80 workers.
The plant will import raw materials from Mitsubishi Rayon in …

Gov. Chris Gregoire and other officials broke ground today on a carbon fiber plant at Moses Lake that will make parts for a BMW electric car.

Plans were announced in April by SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, a joint venture backed by BMW Group and SGL Group, a European carbon fiber maker. It was drawn to central Washington’s potato country by cheap and sustainable hydropower.

The company is spending $100 million on the first phase of the factory. It will support about 200 construction jobs and initially employ 80 workers.

The plant will import raw materials from Mitsubishi Rayon in Otake, Japan, and spin them into fibers that will turned into fabric in Germany for components of BMW’s Megacity vehicle.