Slate production factory is former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana

[YDR37]

Yup. Slate Auto is buying an existing plant in Indiana to manufacture the truck.

Not officially confirmed, but apparently a former printing plant on the west side of Warsaw, roughly midway between Fort Wayne and South Bend.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/25/s...a-printing-plant-for-its-ev-truck-production/

Slate Auto eyes former Indiana printing plant for its EV truck production

April 25, 2025

Slate Auto, the buzzy new EV startup that broke stealth this week, is close to locking in a former printing plant located in Warsaw, Indiana as the future production site for its cheap electric truck, a review of public records shows.

The company is expected to lease the 1.4 million-square-foot facility for an undisclosed sum. Economic development officials told local media earlier this year (without naming Slate) the factory could employ up to 2,000 people, and that the county offered the undisclosed company an incentive package.

It’s not immediately clear what that incentive package includes or if it has been finalized. Slate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Peggy Friday, the CEO of the Kosciusko County Economic Development Corporation said in an email that she is “under a strict non-disclosure agreement with the project.”

Slate showed an aerial photo of the factory during Thursday’s event. The company did not say where it was located, but the photo matches a public listing for the facility available on the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s website. TechCrunch previously reported that the company planned to make its EVs, which will cost under $20,000 after the federal tax credit, in Indiana.

“Our truck will be made here in the USA as part of our commitment to re-industrializing America,” Slate’s CEO Chris Barman said onstage while the factory photo was displayed on a screen behind her.

Slate’s focus on domestic manufacturing is embedded in the company’s DNA. The startup was originally created inside of Re:Build Manufacturing, a Massachusetts-based company focused on beefing up the country’s ability to make things.

The factory in Warsaw was built in 1958, and was occupied for decades by printing company R.R. Donnelly. It has been dormant for around two years, according to local media.

Converting a factory, especially one that was not previously pumping out cars, is no cheap or easy task. Slate has amassed a serious war chest to help tackle that goal. Backed in part by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter, and powerhouse VC firm General Catalyst, the startup has raised well over $100 million to date.

The approach Slate is taking in designing and building its electric truck should help keep costs down, too. The company plans to sell wraps for the trucks instead of painting them, meaning it does not need to build a paint shop at the factory. That alone could save Slate hundreds of millions in the plant buildout process.

 

[E.T.]

Hope they close the deal quickly and get to work outfitting the plant for Slate truck production.

Interesting note: since Indiana doesn't allow direct to consumer car sales, Indiana residents will have to order delivery outside the state and drive it back in. But we've seen Texas Tesla owners (among other states) doing this so it's not much of a deterrent.

 

[E.T.]

Here's the plant address and aerial view:

2801 W OLD RD 30
Warsaw, Indiana 46580

 

[MikeA]

Good update and I would assume it is mainly general assembly because the battery packs can come on from a supplier along with the grey panels and interior parts to be assembled on site.

 

[mikell]

Donnelly was a big phone book printer. Place could be a mess to clean up. I Have had to deal with that before.

 

[Tran]

Here's the plant address and aerial view:

2801 W OLD RD 30
Warsaw, Indiana 46580

As you can see in the aerial photo, the factory is directly linked to a train rail line which will be help speed up shipment and deliveries. Rivian bought a factory (Normal, IL) which had the same feature.

 

[Luxrage]

Donnelly was a big phone book printer. Place could be a mess to clean up. I Have had to deal with that before.

Our town had a former automotive glass / insulation manufacturer close, and after a few years of sitting unsold, the town's "Economic Development Group" bought it. They paid for the cleaning themselves and then put it back on the market as a "move-in ready" facility in order to hopefully get someone in faster. I wonder if Warsaw has done any of that themselves or if Slate will have to do all the cleanup from the ground up.

 

[frambach]

Looks like the location has been confirmed:
Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto announces factory location for its $25,000 electric truck

 

[cadblu]

Are there any construction updates to the facility renovation in Warsaw? I consider this one of the major risk factors if Slate is to deliver product in approximately 18 months. The infrastructure at the old RR Donnelley plant is seriously dated, as the plant was built in the 1950s. Over the span of my career, I have been involved in many large facilities demolitions, moves and renovations. From my perspective, it might have been easier (although more expensive) to build a new factory from the ground up. There are always unknowns and serious risks during a full demolition. To use an old phrase, "you don't know what you don't know." In contrast, under new construction projects and outfitting the factory, mostly everything comes together as plug and play.

As proof, look at what Scout Motors is doing. They are standing up a brand-new, state of the art factory and have made amazing progress. A separate training facility (not inside the factory floor) is also being built on the campus. Appears that Scout is on track to complete the facility in about 2 years. I truly hope that Slate can turn that old Warsaw plant around on schedule!

Scout progress photos below:

New training facility:

 

[skidoofast]

the last update I seen was that they had some building renovations to do

asbestos mitigation
electrical upgrades
replacing much of the concrete floor

those were expected to be completed by end of October if I remember reading correctly

BUT, we now have a pin on the Google Map!!!