Worksport Ltd., a U.S.-based manufacturer of automotive accessories, announced a strategic expansion of its U.S. assembly with the opening of a newly leased facility in Missouri that will serve as the Company’s dedicated production center for the SOLIS solar-integrated tonneau cover. As part of Worksport’s growth strategy, the new facility will elevate the company’s operational scale, geographic reach, engineering integration and commercial readiness as it moves into the clean-tech commercialization phase, company officials stated in a press release.
The decision to assemble SOLIS in Missouri is part of Worksport’s operational strategy and long-term scalability. Missouri provides a central U.S. location that optimizes national shipping routes, reduces outbound logistics costs and offers access to a skilled workforce co-located with Worksport’s experienced industrial engineering team, noted the release.
This expansion more than triples the footprint of Worksport’s previous Missouri-based R&D-only location. The company has secured the new facility under a three-year lease and anticipates the need for additional expansion before the term concludes due to ongoing optimization efforts and growing demand. While the Company’s 152,000-square-foot Buffalo, New York, facility continues scaling production of its AL-platform covers, Missouri will take on the new growth phase of the company’s SOLIS solar cover assembly and distribution.
“Missouri positions Worksport at the center of U.S. logistics and gives us critical access to our engineering talent that can support the technical requirements of SOLIS,” said Steven Rossi, CEO of Worksport. “This is an investment inefficiency, capacity and quality. It is also a strong signal that Worksport is strategically scaling.”
Direct Oversight Between Engineering & Production Enhances Quality & Speed
The Missouri facility is located alongside the company’s expanded R&D center, creating a direct integration between engineering, testing and production for the solar cover platform. This proximity allows Worksport to refine the SOLIS assembly process in real time, improve product performance and accelerate the transition from early production to high-volume production.
SOLIS requires specialized operators trained in electronic wiring, circuitry and solar assembly. Consolidating these capabilities near the engineering team strengthens quality control and ensures rapid iteration as the product moves into volume assembly, the company said.
“We can literally walk prototypes from the lab into the production area, validate improvements and deploy them immediately,” Rossi continued. “This is how premium products are built, and this structure gives us a competitive advantage.”
High Operational Leverage With Minimal Capital Expenditure
Worksport reports that the move to Missouri required very little capital investment, thanks to compatibility with existing equipment and processes. This low-CapEx expansion increases operational leverage at a time when the company is scaling into higher-margin products for significantly broader markets.
The company highlights the following advantages:
- More assembly capacity without significant spend
- Faster commercialization timelines for SOLIS
- Lower risk and higher returns on the company’s growth initiatives.
SOLIS will be produced using Worksport’s build-to-order model, which offers several advantages over traditional inventory-based assembly, officials claimed. This model aligns Worksport with best practices seen in high-end electronics and premium automotive assembly.