Wallbox chooses Texas for its first factory in the United States

Awaiting its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Barcelona-based Wallbox has just reinforced its commitment to the United States by announcing where its first factory in the country will be located. The city of Arlington (Texas) has been the chosen location, in a plant of more than 12,000 square meters, according to Expansión. The electric charger company will invest 44.16 million dollars (37.3 million euros) for its start-up and will create 250 jobs by 2030. This will be the company's fourth plant, after those in Sant Andreu de la Barca, China, and a third one being built in the Zona Franca.

Wallbox expects the Texas plant to become operational in June 2022. The company founded by Enric Asunción expects to gradually increase its capacity to manufacture 290,000 units annually by 2027, a figure that will rise to 500,000 by 2030. To launch this new factory, the Barcelona-based company will receive a subsidy of 1.1 million dollars (930,000 euros) over the next seven years, with a tax exemption that will serve to offset the initial investment costs.

In a frantic year, the company is accelerating its growth by leaps and bounds. In the first six months of 2021, revenue has grown by 30% compared to that obtained throughout 2020, with revenues of 32 million dollars (27 million euros), a figure that, in turn, represents a 300% growth compared to the first half of last year. Likewise, since the beginning of the year, it has added 305 people to its workforce, bringing the total team to more than 600 employees spread across Europe, Asia, and America.

Among the keys that have allowed it to multiply sales during this first half of the year is the launch in the United States of the Pulsar Plus electric charger, its best-selling product, which has managed to become number 1 in sales on Amazon and be one of the items recommended by Amazon Choice in the electric vehicle charging category. The Barcelona-based company expects to continue growing strongly in the country this second half of the year thanks to the strategic alliance it has announced with SunPower, a domestic solar panel installation company that will offer its customers the installation of a Wallbox charger at home that will run on the renewable energy generated by their panels.

Its bet on the United States must also allow it to become one of the few Spanish unicorns ---a startup valued at more than one billion---, when its listing on the New York Stock Exchange is formalized thanks to the agreement it has reached with Kensington Capital, a listed investment vehicle (SPAC) with which it plans to merge in the third quarter, reaching a valuation of 1.5 billion dollars (1.265 billion euros).