German auto equipment firm Kirchner Konstruktionen GMbH will build its first U.S. operations in Greenville County, investing $1 million and adding 30 jobs during the next five years for an office location downtown.
The office space – located in suite 202 in the historic Kent Court Building – serves as the company’s U.S. headquarters under the name Kirchner Design Inc. and will help the company better serve its American customers, according to a news release. Hiring is currently underway.
“Kirchner Design is excited to be a part of the automotive manufacturing sector rapidly expanding within the Southeastern region of the United States,” said Kirchner Design Inc. Managing Director Christopher Henry. “With the help of Greenville County, the state and a highly skilled local workforce, we believe that this will be a formula for success both for Kirchner and for the state of South Carolina.”
Founded in 1990, Kirchner caters to the automotive sector with equipment design using CAD software and on-site robot programming to automate production lines. Based in Weingarten, Germany, the company owns three subsidiaries in its home country and owns a 50 percent share of Slovak engineering firm T-Mech Engineering.
“Kirchner was keen to learn more about Greenville County’s relationship with iconic automotive organizations BMW and Michelin,” said Greenville County Council Chairman Bob Taylor. “In those discussions it became clear that the Upstate offered the most strategic venue to establish its first U.S. headquarters and we look forward to working with Kirchner to ensure it is a success.”
