By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Automotive supplier RAPA celebrated their decision to locate in Lee County on Tuesday and they are bringing 105 jobs with them. RAPA (Rausch and Pausch LP) will locate their U.S. headquarters as well as a production facility in Auburn. The company is investing $18 million into the facility which is being built at Auburn Technology Park West.
Rausch & Pausch LP is a subsidiary of Rausch & Pausch GmbH. Rausch is located in North Bavaria, Germany and produces high-precision automobile parts, including solenoid valves and control blocks. The family owned company was founded in the 1920s and is run by the fourth generation of Pauschs. The RAPA plant in Auburn will supply parts for Chrysler and German transmission manufacturer ZF.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said, “The automotive industry is one of the business sectors we focus on in Accelerate Alabama, and RAPA fits right in with our long-term economic development plans for Alabama. RAPA will soon know what so many other national and international corporate leaders have learned: there’s no better place to do business than Alabama.”
Speaker of the Alabama House Mike Hubbard (R) from Auburn said on Facebook, “I was proud to join Governor Bentley this morning to announce that over 100 new jobs are coming to Auburn. Automotive supplier RAPA (Rausch & Pausch LP) plans to locate a U.S. headquarters and production facility in Auburn. It says a lot about Alabama’s pro-business environment that we’re able to attract these types of companies to our state.”
Alabama State Senator Tom Whatley (R) from Lee County said on Facebook, “Over 100 new auto industry jobs coming to East Alabama with the announcement of RAPA! An $18 million investment. Proud to be part of the team that brought them to East Alabama with Speaker Hubbard, Mayor Bill Ham, Governor Robert Bentley, Philip Dunlap, and others. Great job and an AUsome day. Creating jobs in East Alabama!”
The President of Rausch & Pausch GmbH, Dr. Roman Pausch said, “The pro-business climate in Alabama was one of the key reasons why we came here. Locally, one could not ask for a better economic development program. Auburn combines excellent location factors with programs tailored to help small and medium-sized businesses overcome any possible hurdle.”
Auburn Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. said, “We are proud to bring in another dynamic company that will provide Auburn citizens with well-paid jobs, while strengthening our local manufacturing base. It’s exciting that such a unique product, to be sold internationally, will be manufactured in Auburn.”
Dr. Pausch said, “We are now an Auburn company. Over time, we want to build a company in Auburn that is independent from Germany, with its own research and development capabilities and its own set of North America-based customers.”
Construction on the facility has already begun and production will begin in late 2013. Dr. Pausch thanked Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield and his staff for helping make this happen.
