Hiring
Automotive seating supplier Brose Sitech will open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Richland County, South Carolina, investing $29.5 million and creating 330 new jobs to build complete seat sets for Scout Motors, the South Carolina Department of Commerce announced Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The 140,000-square-foot plant will be located at the Just in Time facility in the Scout Supplier Park in Blythewood, north of Columbia, according to the state. From there, Brose Sitech will supply the new Scout Motors plant with complete car seat sets. Operations are expected to begin in 2027.
The 330 positions are planned jobs at a facility that is not yet operating. The announcement did not give a hiring schedule, a breakdown of job types or wage levels.
A supplier park starts to fill
Scout Motors presented the project as a first payoff from its supplier park. Scout President and CEO Scott Keogh said that when the company announced last year that it would build an on-site Supplier Park at the Scout Motors Production Center, “we promised it would lead to even more jobs, investment and economic prosperity in South Carolina.”
“This announcement represents the beginning of that promise being fulfilled,” Keogh said in the state’s release.
Brose Sitech develops and produces complete seats, seat structures and other seat components. The company has its global headquarters in Poland and 22 locations internationally, including a regional headquarters office in Detroit, according to the release.
“Establishing our first manufacturing location in Blythewood is an important milestone for Brose Sitech,” said Juan-Carlos Kieler, executive vice president of Brose Sitech Columbia Inc. He said the plant would bring the company’s seating expertise “closer to our customer Scout” and lay the foundation for its long-term development in North America.
State and local officials
Gov. Henry McMaster said that by joining the Supplier Park, the company is building on South Carolina’s position in automotive manufacturing. Commerce Secretary Harry M. Lightsey III said the investment would support Scout Motors’ economic and industrial impact in the state.
Richland County Council Chairwoman Jesica Mackey, who also co-chairs the Columbia Area Development Partnership, said the project would “create new jobs and expand opportunities for residents in Richland County.” U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson called it “another important step in the growth of South Carolina’s automotive industry.”
The release did not say whether Brose Sitech received state incentives or grants for the project, and it did not disclose any job-creation requirements.
What it means for job seekers
For workers in the Columbia area, the announcement adds a second layer of auto-industry hiring around the Scout Motors site: jobs at suppliers whose production is tied directly to the assembly plant’s output. Because the plant’s stated purpose is to supply Scout with complete seat sets, its work is tied to Scout’s own production.
The state directed people interested in working for Brose Sitech to the company’s careers page. With operations not expected until 2027, the 330 jobs should be read as a hiring target rather than openings available now.
Sources
- South Carolina Department of Commerce, “Brose Sitech selects Richland County for first US manufacturing facility,” October 28, 2026. https://www.sccommerce.com/newsroom/brose-sitech-selects-richland-county-first-us-manufacturing-facility
Featured photo: A Scout Terra on display at the IAA Summit in Munich, Germany, Sept. 8, 2025. Representative image; not the Blythewood facility or Brose Sitech's seats. Photo: Matti Blume, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
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