The Minth Group Gadsden project broke ground on 3 August 2026, committing $430 million to an automotive components campus on 400 acres of former steelmaking land in Gadsden, Alabama. Minth Group Limited, described in state and city announcements as a Taiwan based supplier with 78 plants worldwide, intends the site to become its largest campus anywhere on the planet. The property carries history. Republic Steel and later Gulf States Steel operated here until Gulf States filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in 2000, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the acreage has sat largely idle since. Plans call for the company to renovate and expand the old mill buildings into close to 1 million square feet of manufacturing space, producing plastic and aluminium trim and structural components for vehicles assembled at Hyundai in Montgomery and Kia in West Point, Georgia. Employment is the headline locally, with more than 1,300 positions forecast and a ceiling of 1,325 as operations mature, at average annual wages the Alabama Department of Commerce expects to exceed $49,000. Gadsden based Greer Building Contractors holds the construction work and begins in the coming weeks. Mayor Craig Ford told WBRC the city is running utilities, drainage and sewer connections while reviewing road access, and that the company is already moving equipment onto the site. Ford also cited a $1.3 million contribution to the city school system. Production is targeted for 2027.

Alabama Manufacturing Momentum Behind the $430 Million Gadsden Investment

Alabama has spent two decades converting cheap land and automotive supply chains into large industrial footprints, and Gadsden is now on the receiving end of that machinery. The nearest comparison in scale sits about 80 miles southwest, where the $1.1 billion Smucker’s manufacturing and distribution facility at McCalla in Jefferson County has moved from proposal to production. That plant, running to 900,000 square feet and supporting up to 750 jobs, opened in November 2024 with Governor Kay Ivey present, roughly three years after announcement and a year later than the original target, a useful benchmark for anyone modelling how long these programmes actually take. Minth is chasing a tighter schedule on a harder site. Brownfield reuse of a bankrupt steel mill carries remediation, structural and utility unknowns that a greenfield pad in McCalla never posed, which is why the Casey family spent 25 years cleaning up and repositioning the property before Minth acquired it. Five businesses already operate on the site and will continue, according to Gadsden Etowah Industrial Development Authority chief executive David Hooks. The strategic logic is regional. Hyundai’s Montgomery plant and Kia’s West Point plant anchor a supplier belt that stretches across east Alabama into Georgia, and Minth has framed the Gadsden investment around serving North American customers moving toward electric and advanced vehicles. Etowah County, meanwhile, has absorbed the loss of both Goodyear and Gulf States Steel, which gives this announcement unusual local weight.

Minth Group Gadsden Timeline, Completion Targets and What Comes Next

Construction started the day after the ceremony, with Greer Building Contractors mobilising and the city working through utility and road upgrades in parallel. Hiring is the next visible milestone. Mayor Ford said the first phase of recruitment should begin within three to four months, and Minth has to be supplying parts by spring 2027, a deadline WBRC reported as the reason the build is being pushed hard. Risks cluster around that date. Brownfield renovation of mill structures rarely runs to plan, the site needs new water, drainage and sewer capacity delivered on the city’s timetable, and 1,325 skilled manufacturing roles must be filled in a county with no recent history of hiring at that volume. Workforce development through local training partners will decide whether the upper figure is reachable. Chief strategy officer William Chin, son of the founder, called the site a shift from rubble to renewal in the March announcement, and chief executive Esther Chin described the campus as a milestone in the group’s American expansion. If production lands on schedule, Gadsden gains its largest private employer in a generation.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Minth Group Gadsden manufacturing campus
• Location: Former Republic Steel and Gulf States Steel site, Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama
• Project Value: $430 million, per Minth Group and the Alabama Department of Commerce
• Client and Owner: Minth Group Limited, through Minth North America Inc.
• Main Contractor: Greer Building Contractors, Gadsden
• Site Area: 400 acres of brownfield land, idle since Gulf States Steel entered Chapter 7 liquidation in 2000
• Key Components: Renovation and expansion of existing mill buildings into close to 1 million square feet of manufacturing space
• Products: Plastic and aluminium trim and structural components for automakers including Hyundai in Montgomery and Kia in West Point, Georgia
• Jobs Created: More than 1,300, with capacity for 1,325 as operations scale, at average annual wages expected to exceed $49,000
• Community Contribution: $1.3 million for the Gadsden school system, per Mayor Craig Ford
• Construction Start: August 2026
• Production Target: 2027, with parts supply required by spring of that year

Project Team

• Investor and Owner: Minth Group Limited
• US Operations: Minth North America Inc., regional headquarters in Wixom, Michigan
• Main Contractor: Greer Building Contractors, Gadsden
• State Agency: Alabama Department of Commerce, led by Secretary Ellen McNair
• Local Economic Development: Gadsden Etowah Industrial Development Authority, led by chief executive David Hooks
• Municipality: City of Gadsden, delivering utility and road infrastructure
• Site Redevelopment: The Casey family, which spent 25 years remediating and repositioning the former mill property
• Workforce Partner: Gadsden State Community College, credited by Minth in the March announcement

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Minth Group investing in Gadsden? Minth Group is investing $430 million in the Gadsden campus. The figure was confirmed by the company and the Alabama Department of Commerce in March 2026 and repeated at the August groundbreaking.

Who is building the Minth Group Gadsden facility? Greer Building Contractors, a Gadsden firm, has been selected to construct the facility and is mobilising within weeks of the groundbreaking.

When will the Minth Group Gadsden plant start production? Production is expected to begin in 2027, with the company under a requirement to start supplying parts by spring of that year.

How many jobs will the Minth Group Gadsden campus create? More than 1,300 jobs are forecast, rising to as many as 1,325 as operations scale, with average annual wages projected above $49,000. Hiring is expected to start within three to four months of the August 2026 groundbreaking.

What will the Minth Group Gadsden plant make? The plant will produce plastic and aluminium trim and structural components for vehicles built at United States assembly plants, including Hyundai in Montgomery and Kia in West Point, Georgia.