Schaeffler plans Dover plant within Ohio expansion

Schaeffler plans an electric-axle plant in Dover as part of a wider Ohio investment programme, alongside battery research and regional automotive manufacturing.

Dover manufacturing plans

Schaeffler, based in Germany, plans a Dover, Ohio, factory producing electric axles for light- and medium-duty vehicles. Construction was scheduled to begin in mid-2024, with completion estimated for the third quarter of 2025. The first phase would provide approximately 130,000 square feet.

The Ohio programme, announced on Feb 26, 2024, covers more than $230 million of investment and 650 projected jobs through 2032 across Dover and other state expansions. Schaeffler forecast approximately 450 jobs at Dover itself by 2032.

Battery research partnership

Schaeffler Americas also joined Honda, JobsOhio and public officials in the Nov 13, 2023, announcement of an Ohio State University battery-cell research centre. The planned renovation would convert 25,000 square feet in the university's innovation district into research, production and education space. The Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research would manage and operate the centre.

The project had $22 million in commitments, including $15 million from lead foundational partner Honda. Another $4.5 million in federal funding, secured through the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Extramural Construction programme, would support a 4,000-square-foot dry room for battery-cell assembly. Opening was scheduled for April 2025; the research partnership targeted battery materials, manufacturing technologies and workforce development.

Schaeffler

Ohio's wider automotive projects

Honda's earlier EV Hub preparations covered its Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and Anna Engine Plant. Its Mar 14, 2023, announcement outlined steps under a $700 million retooling programme for these Ohio operations. Marysville would consolidate two production lines to make room for electric-vehicle infrastructure, while employees would begin related training.

Anna would transfer engine-component work to Alabama to free space for electric-vehicle battery cases. These cases would be combined with modules from Honda's joint venture with LG Energy Solution in Ohio. Honda planned to retain conventional and hybrid production alongside its electrification preparations.

Production and recruitment scope

Wooster, Schaeffler's existing Ohio transmission-systems location, had completed an almost 90,000-square-foot expansion for electric motors and powertrain components. Ohio and JobsOhio would provide grants and tax credits; possible Inflation Reduction Act benefits remained under review.

The university centre's planned activities linked laboratory research with practical-scale battery development. Schaeffler Americas technology chief Jeff Hemphill described the company's work on next-generation all-solid-state battery technology as a development effort.