German Automotive Supplier Will Open $5 Million Production Plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 4, 2008 - ept automotive has leased 46,300 square feet of manufacturing space in River's Bend in Chesterfield County for a new facility to produce electrical connectors for the automotive industry.

The facility, involving an estimated $5 million in investment, will open in October and is expected to create more than 50 jobs during the next three years.

ept (Electronic Precision Technology) automotive is a subsidiary of ept GmbH & KG, Peiting, Germany, located about 60 miles southwest of Munich. A global supplier to the automotive industry for integrated solutions for electrical connection technology, the firm has more than 700 employees.

Willy Rau, president of ept america, was selected in February to establish the new production facility.

Thomas Guglhör, president of ept automotive, said "We are very excited about our new production facility to be established in Chesterfield County. Virginia is perfectly located as a bridge between our parent company in Germany and our many automotive customers in North America. The support we received from state, regional and local economic development officials goes back several years and helped make our decision a confident one."

Mr. Rau added: "The Greater Richmond area offers a pool of experienced, skilled workers and managers that will contribute quickly to our mission. Having operated another business in the area for many years, I have great respect for Virginia's business climate and the productivity of the local workforce."

Gregory H Wingfield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc., said "Greater Richmond is especially proud to add another technologically focused German company to our long and growing list of international corporate citizens in the region. Our marketing office in Cologne, Germany originally contacted the company in 2004 and began initial discussions. Numerous visits by the owners to Greater Richmond, and by Greater Richmond Partnership staff to Germany helped further the discussions."

ept was provided site-selection and relocation assistance by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc. and the Chesterfield County Department of Economic Development.