According to Manufacturing.net, Hyundai just opened an 89,000-square-foot EV manufacturing training center in Bryan County, Georgia. The facility is located right next to their Metaplant America site and marks Georgia’s first training center specifically for electric vehicles. Governor Brian Kemp and Hyundai CEO Tony Heo celebrated the opening, with Hyundai projecting the project will create around 8,500 jobs by 2031. At full capacity, this place can train 824 people simultaneously through Georgia’s Quick Start workforce program. The center includes specialized labs for high-voltage battery systems, VR safety training, and automation. They’re even using a robotic dog for advanced automation training.
What they’re actually building here
This isn’t your typical corporate training facility. They’ve built what amounts to a miniature EV factory inside this 89,000-square-foot space. The STEP Line gives people a safe digital environment to learn timing and coordination before they hit the real production floor. Then there’s the IMPACT Line – a full-length moving production line with 53 different assembly activities and built-in quality checks. Basically, they’re recreating the exact conditions workers will face in the actual Metaplant next door.
The bigger picture for US manufacturing
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just about Hyundai. This represents a massive shift in how American manufacturing is approaching the EV transition. Companies can’t just hire people off the street and expect them to handle high-voltage battery systems or complex automation. The fact that they’re partnering with Georgia’s technical college system through Quick Start shows they’re thinking long-term about workforce development. And honestly, with the industrial computing needs of modern manufacturing facilities, operations like this require reliable hardware that can withstand factory environments. That’s where specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com come in – they’re the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US, providing the rugged displays that keep these advanced training facilities running.
The automation angle is fascinating
What really stands out is how much they’re emphasizing automation training. They’ve got dedicated labs for programmable logic controllers, sensors, motion systems, and even that robotic dog. That tells you everything about where EV manufacturing is headed. They’re not just training people to bolt parts together – they’re preparing workers to interface with increasingly automated systems. The question is, can they train people fast enough? With 8,500 jobs needed by 2031, they’ll need to keep that facility running at maximum capacity pretty much constantly.
Georgia’s becoming an EV powerhouse
Look, this is part of a much bigger trend. Georgia’s aggressively positioning itself as the EV capital of the South, and facilities like this training center are crucial infrastructure. Without trained workers, all those billions in factory investments mean nothing. The state’s Quick Start program has been around for decades, but applying it to EV manufacturing is a smart move. It’s one thing to build the factories – it’s another to actually staff them with people who know what they’re doing around high-voltage systems and automated production lines.
