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South Korea already is having an impact on Kokomo. The community’s skyline is changing with the addition of new electric vehicle manufacturing. Jobs are on the way. And one of the city’s new investors and corporate neighbors stepped up last week to show support for some local nonprofits.

Jaewon Industrial, a South Korea-based supplier of chemicals and allied products, is in the process of installing a new chemical recycling plant in Kokomo to serve lithium-ion battery manufacturers and the growing electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. To support this growth, the company plans to create up to 100 new, high-wage jobs by the end of 2024.

And to support the community, the company’s founder, Jae-Won Shim, toured Kokomo and presented $20,000 in checks to seven organizations.

“It has been very important for Jaewon to give back to the community,” said Paul Wyman, former Howard County Commissioner. “They fallen in love with our community since they've been here, so they wanted to honor (the organizations) with a check for the work that you're doing.”

Six organizations received $3,000 donations from Jaewon, including the Kokomo Police Department, Kokomo Fire Department, Kokomo Rescue Mission, Turning Point System of Care, the Family Services Association, and the Howard County Food Access Alliance. Jaewon also donated $2,000 to become a sponsor of the 2024 Haynes Apperson Festival.

Allison Norman, MPA, Director of Food Access Initiatives for the Howard County Food Access Alliance, was joyful in accepting the donation from Jaewon.

“Our organization is hoping to reduce food insecurity throughout Howard County by supporting our local food pantries,” said Norman. “Getting a new grocery store up and running, getting a community garden going … thank you for supporting our initiatives. We're really hoping to do good work here, and your donations will be part of that.”

Jaewon, which is headquartered in Yeosu, South Korea, has established a subsidiary, JWA Co., Ltd., to serve the U.S. battery and EV market. JWA is investing $102 million to locate its first operations in Kokomo. In its first phase of construction, the company will construct a 65,000-square-foot facility to disperse conductive slurry and will build a recycling facility to recycle n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), enabling JWA to recycle up to 100,000 tons of NMP once at full capacity.

The company’s second phase of construction will include building a second, 150,000-square-foot facility to disperse conductive slurry. JWA’s new Kokomo site will serve the electric vehicle industry, recycling chemical waste to electric grade and supporting battery manufacturers’ ESG initiatives.

JWA expects to begin operations in 2024, serving battery manufacturers in Indiana, including Stellantis’ and Samsung SDI’s new StarPlus Energy joint venture..