ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The Rivian SUV isn’t just parked outside Clayco for easy product placement. The two companies are now business partners.

“We’re really excited to forge this new partnership with Rivian,” Clayco’s Tony Mezines said.

Rivian selected Clayco to build a cutting-edge electric vehicle manufacturing plant about an hour east of Atlanta, Georgia.

“We really have the best, brightest and most creative employees working here at Clayco, and it allows us to take on these highly complex projects,” Mezines said.

Mezines says the Rivian project furthers the advanced manufacturing work that Clayco’s been involved in for the last two decades.

“Over the past year, we’ve really seen a large uptick in sustainable energy projects. Whether it’s lithium-ion batteries, solar manufacturing, or now, with the announcement of Rivian, electric vehicle manufacturing,” Mezines said.

It’s also why Mezines believes a project some 600 miles from St. Louis is still a win for us locally.

“It’s projects like Rivian that’ll help us achieve our growth here in St. Louis,” he said. “I think we’re projecting to grow over the next couple of years by something like 400 more employees here in St. Louis locally.”

In November, Clayco founder and executive chairman Bob Clark joined Missouri Governor Mike Parson at the capitol to announce the state’s approval of nearly $18 million in incentives to turn the old Express Scripts headquarters in north St. Louis County, into a new St. Louis headquarters for Clayco.

“For the state to do well, St. Louis needs to do well,” Parson said.

And with the shovel-ready Rivian project added to its portfolio, Clayco is ready to show it’s running on all cylinders.

“Successful projects are when you can come away forging a strong relationship with a company like Rivian,” Mezines said.