Laird will undertake a major expansion and relocation project for its vehicle connectivity research and design center near Detroit, the automotive technology supplier announced.

Laird will relocate its engineering, research and design center from Holly, Mich., to a 14.5-acre site in an industrial park in nearby Grand Blanc. A new building at that location will have more than 43,000 square feet with the ability to add an additional 20,000 square feet in the future. This new building doubles the size of Laird’s current, 22,000-square-foot facility.

The project represents a $14.4 million investment in the local community and is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2017, according to the company. It will result in the creation initially of at least 20 new jobs once the building opens with the possibility of an additional 40 new positions as the business continues to grow. The increased space also provides room for new technologies and improved interactions with customers. 

This will be the fourth recent expansion globally for Laird’s Connected Vehicle Solutions that opened a new facility in Brazil and acquired Germany based automotive electronics supplier Novero earlier this year. In 2014, the company opened a new manufacturing site in Shanghai, China.