Electrolyte maker adds plant in Tennessee
Duksan Electera America Inc. announced Wednesday it will invest $95 million to locate its first North American manufacturing facility in Shelbyville, Tennessee.
A branch of South Korean-based Duksan Group, Duksan Electera will create 101 new jobs in Bedford County over the next five years. As an electrolyte manufacturer for the electric vehicle battery industry, Duksan Electera's expansion to Tennessee will position the company to be geographically closer to its core customer base.
The Shelbyville location will help supply roughly 60,000 tons of electrolytes to battery makers in the southeastern U.S.
Founded in 2021, as a subsidiary of Duksan Technopia Co., Ltd., Duksan Electera is part of the Duksan Group, a South Korean-based advanced material manufacturer. Duksan Electera supports its parent company through the manufacturing of electrolytes for the electric vehicle battery sector.
The electric vehicle market is a market with a bright future with an expected compound annual growth rate of 32% by 2030, and the demand for related materials such as electrolytes is projected to rise accordingly," Suwan Lee, president of Duksan Electera America, Inc., said in a statement Wednesday. "With our business in this promising market, I hope that we can create a mutually beneficial environment where the community and the company can both continue to grow."
Spirit ponders sale to Jet Blue airline
Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines agreed Wednesday to abandon their merger proposal, opening the way for JetBlue Airways to acquire Spirit.
Spirit, the largest budget carrier in the United States, said it was still in discussions with JetBlue "and expects to provide a further update in the near future."
The decision by Spirit and Frontier to terminate their deal was announced while Spirit shareholders were still voting on the proposal. It was apparent that despite the support of Spirit's board, shareholders were prepared to reject the Frontier deal.
The Frontier offer was worth more than $2.6 billion in cash and stock, far short of JetBlue's all-cash bid of $3.7 billion.
Ford profits up 19% as car sales improve
Ford Motor Co.'s net income rose 19% in the second quarter as the company pulled together enough computer chips to boost factory output and sales.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said it made $667 million from April through June. Adjusted earnings per share were 68 cents, beating Wall Street estimates of 45 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue was $40.19 billion, also beating analyst estimates of $36.87 billion.
The company stuck with its full-year outlook for pretax earnings of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion. Ford still expects 10% to 15% growth in vehicle sales to dealers for the full year.
It made $561 million in the second quarter of last year.
- Combined by Dave Flessner