Birmingham, AL — Ghafari Associates has been awarded a contract to provide comprehensive architecture and engineering services for a new automotive plant for Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. (MTMUS) in Huntsville, Alabama. This joint venture represents a $1.6 billion investment by the two global automakers.
The nearly six million-square-foot complex to be developed on a greenfield site will be among the largest of its kind in terms of size and operational capacity. The campus will include a press shop, welding shop, paint shop, general assembly facility, test track, ancillary support building, and an administration building with offices, locker rooms, and cafeteria.
"We are excited to have this opportunity," says Michael Swiatkowski, Ghafari’s Director of Project Management. “A project of this magnitude speaks to our level of expertise and our commitment to client satisfaction. Our firm has held the top spot in the nation for automotive plant design for over a decade. We look forward to expanding our geographic footprint and enhancing our relationship with Mazda-Toyota over the course of this project.”
The new plant will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, with production split evenly between each company. When complete, the plant will produce a new Mazda crossover model and the Toyota Corolla. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018 while vehicle production is expected to start in 2021.
