Throwback Thursday: 20 Years of Magna

This year marks a special community milestone: Magna is celebrating 20 years in southern Kentucky. In the Kentucky Transpark, Bowling Green Metalforming was one of the first manufacturers to set up at the new northern Warren County industrial park. Employing nearly 1,500 people at a facility that’s over one million square feet, the Magna facility continues to evolve with new technology and capabilities that produce items for Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, and Toyota.

First opening in 2005, the Magna location at the northern industrial park was one of the first spots to activate within the new Transpark. Local leaders were eager to keep Bowling Green in the running for technology advancement and appealing to major employers. Now, Magna brings over $600 million in annual revenue. Welding and robotics are key components of Magna manufacturing. Every year, Bowling Green metalforming consumes nearly 95 million feet of weld wire! To date, the facility has worked on 29 models of vehicles in its two decades of operation.

While innovative technology for global clients is paramount, giving back to the local community and making Bowling Green a better place to live is also important to Magna. Over $200,000 dollars has been raised and donated to southern Kentucky nonprofits and causes over the past couple years, including the Center for Courageous Kids, Feeding America, the American Cancer Society, the Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society, the Barren River Area Safe Space, Angel Tree, and the Socks for Seniors program.

As the Bowling Areen area continues to spread, more developments come to the transpark, and Warren County is positioned to grow to double our population in the next 25 years, we look forward to the next two decades at Magna. How will manufacturing robotics change the facility? What innovative measures will be taken to several major automakers? What will the Kentucky Transpark look like in another 200 years? Looking forward to watching it unfold with Bowling Green Metalforming.