Chang Robotics at the USA Rare Earth Groundbreaking in Blacksburg

Chang Robotics

3 days ago

3 min read

On September 9, 2026, USA Rare Earth broke ground on a new rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina. Chang Robotics is part of the partner team bringing that facility online.

We were on site for the ceremony. What follows is what is being built, why it matters, and the work we are doing.

What is being built in Blacksburg

According to USA Rare Earth's announcement, the facility will sit on a 124-acre site in Bailey Industrial Park in Cherokee County. The building is planned at roughly 800,000 square feet. The company describes the project as an investment of approximately $1.2 billion, expected to create about 490 high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs in South Carolina's Upstate.

Once the plant is online, USA Rare Earth is targeting production of 6,400 metric tons per year of sintered neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets, along with 5,000 metric tons per year of strip-cast metal and alloy. The company has said it is targeting the start of commissioning in 2028.

The site was chosen after USA Rare Earth evaluated nearly 275 locations across the country. The company points to the region's skilled manufacturing workforce, reliable power, transportation access along the Interstate 85 corridor, and support from state and local partners.

Why rare earth magnets matter

Permanent magnets are small parts that almost nothing modern works without. They are in cars, phones, industrial motors, and medical equipment. They are also in defense and aerospace systems, semiconductor manufacturing, and energy infrastructure.

For decades, most of the world bought these magnets rather than made them. USA Rare Earth notes that the United States remains heavily dependent on foreign sources for many of these materials, with China dominating significant portions of the global supply chain. When that supply gets interrupted, the effects reach every industry that depends on it.

The Blacksburg plant is one part of USA Rare Earth's effort to build the full chain inside the United States and among its allies, covering mining, processing, separation, metal and alloy making, and magnet manufacturing. It will complement the company's existing magnet operation in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where the first commercial production line was commissioned earlier this year.

What Chang Robotics brings

USA Rare Earth's announcement describes our role this way: "Chang Robotics is bringing expertise in advanced manufacturing, automation and robotics."

This is the kind of project our teams are built for.

"We're building a better future for our kids by being able to re-industrialize and make more things here in the US." - Kate McAfoose, President, Chang Robotics

The partner team

USA Rare Earth named its construction, development, engineering, and technology partners in the announcement. Clark Construction Group and Frampton Construction are serving as design-builder through the Clark/Frampton joint venture. Trammell Crow Company is serving as developer. McMillan Pazdan Smith is project architect, working with Bennett & Pless, Thomas & Hutton, and Salas O'Brien. Chang Robotics is on that team for advanced manufacturing, automation, and robotics.

An investment in the community

Alongside the groundbreaking, USA Rare Earth announced a $250,000 contribution to Spartanburg Community College supporting its new SPARK Center in Cherokee County. The center is intended to connect education, workforce development, and economic development in the county.

Nearly 500 skilled jobs need nearly 500 trained people. Putting money into the local talent pipeline at the same time as the foundation is the right order to do it in.