Fukoku Korea to invest $18.9M in Henry manufacturing facility

Rubber and plastic automotive products manufacturer Fukoku Korea plans to invest $18.9 million to establish a new manufacturing plant in Henry County, a project expected to create 60 jobs, Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Thursday.

The company will use an existing shell building at Patriot Centre Industrial Park, where it will make rubber damper pulleys for automotive engines and thermal gap fillers for electric vehicle batteries.

“This investment marks an important step in our long-term growth strategy and strengthens our commitment to serving our automotive customers in North America,” Fukoku Korea CEO Ikjun Kwon said in a news release.

Founded in 1987, Fukoku Korea is a global manufacturer of specialized automotive components, specializing in rubber-based products and engine parts that reduce noise and vibration. Hyundai, GM and Ford are among the automakers it serves.

Fukoku Korea has established a new business entity FKC America to serve the American market, according to the governor’s office.

“Our community has long held a deep appreciation and love for cars and the automotive industry, so we are especially proud to welcome a company that produces critical engine components to Henry County,” Henry County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Adams said in a statement. “FKC America’s decision to locate in the Lot 8 Shell Building at Patriot Centre Industrial Park is a powerful vote of confidence in our workforce and in the investments we have made to prepare for opportunities like this.”

The shell building, which was built in 2014 for $3.2 million, has 90,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 5,500 square feet of office space, according to the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. website. It sits on a 15-acre lot with an 11-acre graded pad.

FKC America paid about $4 million for the shell building and property, according to Henry County Administrator Dale Wagoner.

In 2021, then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced that Schock GmbH, a German quartz composite sink manufacturer, planned to build an $85 million manufacturing facility on Lot 8 at the Patriot Centre, creating 355 jobs. The company invested about $750,000 in work on the building, but later decided not to move forward with a U.S. investment.

In 2024, the Henry County Board of Supervisors voted to buy back the shell building for $1 million, the amount Schock paid in 2021.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. to secure the project for Virginia.

Spanberger approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Henry County with the project. FKC America will receive funding and services to support employee training through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

In 2025, workers completed a 100,440-square-foot shell building on Lot 2 of the Patriot Centre. South Carolina-based Marlboro Development Team built the shell building, while Henry County owns the land. It was the county’s first public-private partnership at an industrial site.

County officials weren’t worried about building another shell building at the Patriot Centre even though the one on Lot 8 wasn’t yet occupied, according to Wagoner.

“People don’t wake up thinking about Henry County every day,” he said Thursday. “We’ve got to give them a reason to come here, and we do that by building high-quality shell buildings and high-quality industrial sites.”