This company wants to turn water bottles in Flint, MI into auto parts

The water is still toxic for many residents of Flint, MI yet one automotive supply company has plans to turn the crisis into an opportunity.

An auto parts supplier today announced plans to relocate a facility from China to Flint, MI in part to turn discarded water bottles into plastic auto parts. The company plans on investing $9.68 million into the venture, which includes hiring 380 individuals and occupying a vacant 134,000 square foot complex on the city’s north side.

To make this possible the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a $5.7 million “performance-based” loan that can be converted to a grant if C3 Venture Flint LLC achieves its stated goal of creating 380 jobs.meets the 380 new jobs milestone.

As part of the water crisis, Flint, MI, residents have been forced to turn to bottle water for use in cooking, cleaning and bathing. With that, comes a lot of discarded plastic bottles.

“We’re actually going to recycle Flint’s water bottles, which are accumulating at a mammoth rate right now, into different car parts,” said Bob Waun, CEO with C3 Ventures.

C3 Venture Flint LLC is a sister company to CT Automotive, an auto parts supplier with facilities around the world. The Detroit News is reporting that the company had a customer that wanted to manufacture parts in the United States, per the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Sites in Indiana and California were also considered, The Detroit News states.