April 19. PAC Racing Springs, a division of the Michigan-based Peterson Spring Co., has announced plans to open a new facility in Mooresville that will manufacture suspension springs as well as a new chassis product development center. The facility at 255 Raceway Drive, which opens Aug. 1, will create 15 jobs.

The PAC Racing Springs sales staff, product engineering staff and technical support will be relocated to Mooresville as well. The company expects to create about 15 jobs during the first six to eight months of operation.

The Charlotte Regional Partnership was PAC Racing Springs’ point of entry into the Charlotte region, and worked directly with the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corp. to help the company select its new Mooresville facility location. No incentives were given to recruit the company. PAC declined to specify the square footage of the plant or its dollar investment.

“The opportunity to be situated in the heart of the racing community offers our customers a unique development where we can work directly with engineers to manufacture the suspension products they require,” said Jason Youd, PAC Racing Springs’ Manager of Business Development. “Having the suspension spring manufacturing, engineering and sales onsite will allow for additional support for our customer base worldwide”

The company said the Mooresville region provides an “exceptional dynamic with global recognition” as a hub of racing technology.

PAC Racing Springs is the aftermarket and racing manufacturer division of the Peterson Spring Co., headquartered in Southfield, Mi.

Peterson Spring dates back to 1914, when August Peterson launched a company in Detroit to meet the demand for springs within the railroad industry and the budding automobile industry.

By 1932, Peterson founded Precision Spring Corp., a company majority-owned by August and his three younger brothers, Sigurd, Conrad and Harold. As the company grew, it continued to be a family-oriented enterprise as a second generation of Petersons joined the ranks.

Precision Spring grew alongside the automobile and other industries with the post-WWII manufacturing explosion. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw the company expand overseas through the purchase of foreign firms and joint ventures. In 1978, the company split into two halves with one renamed Peterson American Corporation. They would eventually purchase the assets of the departed half in 1991 bringing the entire Peterson family of companies back under the PAC umbrella. It has 13 facilities worldwide.