Zeeland employer expects to add 130 workers over next five years

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

A year ago, Gentex Corporation built a $35 million, 350,000-square-foot technology center and manufacturing facility on Centennial Street in Zeeland. Now they're adding a $6 million, 60,000-square-foot manufacturing space to their State Street facility.

"We expect that expansion will create 130 new manufacturing jobs over the next five years," said Craig Piersma, director of corporate communications.

Automatic dimming rearview mirrors and the electronics in them are the company's specialty. Those electronics control LED turn signals in exterior mirrors, speech recognition microphones for hands-free cell phone use, a high beam headlamp control system, and more.

"We are really an electronics company that happens to service the automotive industry," Piersma said. "We are probably the state's largest electronics manufacturer."

The company employs about 2,200 workers in West Michigan, and more worldwide. With sales and engineering operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, Korea, and China, Gentex is a supplier to every major automaker in the world and reported sales of $572 million last year.

A contract with Boeing will soon send the company on its first foray into the aeronautics business making user-dimmable windows that will eliminate the need for window shades in airplane cabins.

Source: Craig Piersma, Gentex Corporation

Deborah Johnson Wood is the Development News Editor for Rapid Growth. She can be reached at [email protected].