Georgia's Aerospace and EV Manufacturing Landscape
Georgia has quietly become one of the most important advanced-manufacturing states in the country, and two sectors define its industrial identity: aerospace and defense, and the fast-emerging electric-vehicle and battery cluster. Both are precision-driven, both run demanding supplier-quality programs, and both put heavy electrical and mechanical loads on the power and signal cords that feed their assembly fixtures, test cells, and tool drops.
On the aerospace side, Gulfstream Aerospace (a General Dynamics company) builds, completes, and supports its business-jet fleet across more than four million square feet in Savannah, where it is the area's largest private employer. To the northwest, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics runs C-130J Super Hercules final assembly and F-35 Lightning II center-wing assembly at Air Force Plant 6 in Marietta. Robins Air Force Base near Warner Robins anchors a deep maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) ecosystem, and suppliers such as Triumph Group and Thrush Aircraft in Albany round out the base.
On the automotive side, Georgia is now the center of gravity for EV and battery production in the Southeast. The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Ellabell (Bryan County) reached full production in late 2024 on a $7.6 billion EV assembly campus. Kia Georgia has built vehicles in West Point since 2009 and produces the three-row EV9 there. SK Battery America runs gigawatt-scale EV-cell production in Commerce, the Hyundai–SK On joint venture is building a cell plant in Bartow County, and Rivian has a planned assembly campus near Social Circle. These plants are profiled in more depth on our Georgia retractile cord manufacturer page.
The Cord and Cable Engineering Challenges
Aerospace and EV manufacturing share a deceptively hard problem: getting reliable power and signal to a tool, fixture, or test station that moves — over and over, for years — without leaving cable slack to snag, trip, or wear through on the floor. A straight cord either pools in a hazard or pulls taut and strains its terminations. A retractile cord climbs out of the way and returns to a tidy coil every cycle. But specifying that cord correctly means solving several engineering constraints at once.
Flex Life
A retractile cord on a moving assembly line can see hundreds of extend-and-retract cycles per shift. Over a multi-year program that adds up to millions of flex cycles. Conductor stranding, coil pitch, and jacket compound all determine how many cycles the cord survives before a conductor fatigues or the coil loses its memory and stops retracting. High-flex helical (curly) constructions are engineered specifically for this duty.
Current Rating
An aerospace tool drop running pneumatic torque tools or lighting is a very different load than an EV battery-pack assembly station or a drive-cycle dynamometer feed. Gauge selection has to carry the rated current at the cord's extended length without excessive voltage drop or heating — a retractile cord's extended length is typically several times its retracted length, which matters for the calculation.
Jacket Compound and Environment
Battery and EV lines expose cordage to cutting fluids, coolants, and electrolyte residues. Aerospace completions bays and GSE see abrasion, solvents, and temperature swings. The jacket compound has to resist the specific chemistries of the environment while staying flexible enough to coil cleanly cold.
Shielding
EV test cells and battery-validation stations are full of variable-frequency drives, inverters, and high-voltage switching that generate electromagnetic interference. Signal and instrumentation cords running near that equipment need braided or spiral shielding to protect data integrity, and the shield has to survive the same flex duty as the conductors.
How Retractile, Curly, and Coiled Cords Solve Them
The reason retractile cordage is so common on aerospace and EV lines is that it resolves the core conflict between mobility and tidiness. Here is how each property maps to the challenges above:
- Self-retracting geometry keeps the working slack off the floor, out of aisles, and away from moving fixtures — eliminating trip hazards and snag points on a busy line.
- Engineered coil memory returns the cord to a compact coil every cycle, so an operator at a wing-build fixture or a battery-pack station always has the cable retracted out of the work envelope.
- High-flex stranding in helical curly and retractile constructions delivers the millions of flex cycles that multi-year aerospace and EV programs demand without conductor fatigue.
- Application-matched jackets resist the abrasion, solvents, coolants, and electrolyte residues of the specific bay or test cell while staying flexible enough to coil cleanly.
- Integrated shielding protects signal and instrumentation lines from the EMI of VFDs, inverters, and high-voltage switching gear common in EV validation.
The result is a single cable that delivers power or signal exactly where the operator needs it, withdraws cleanly when released, and holds up through the life of the program. That combination is why retractile, curly, and coiled cords show up on Georgia OEM bills of materials across both sectors.
Recommended Autac Products for Aerospace Lines
Aerospace assembly, completions, and GSE applications generally fall into a few well-defined cord profiles. The right starting point depends on the load and the environment:
- 14 AWG and 12 AWG, 3-conductor / 15A TPR-jacketed retractile cords cover most assembly-line and completions-bay tool drops. Custom retracted lengths from 18" to 36" are standard.
- 10 AWG / 20A retractile configurations handle higher-current ground support equipment (GSE) and depot sustainment applications on long flight-line and MRO drops.
- 16 AWG and 18 AWG shielded curly cords serve signal, control, and inspection-tool applications where data integrity matters.
Because Autac is a US-only manufacturer with a US supply chain, the same cordage that fits an assembly drop also fits cleanly into ITAR-compliant supplier rosters and AS9100-adjacent supplier-quality programs, with full lot traceability for audits. Browse the Retractile Cords hub for stock configurations, the Curly Cords hub for high-flex signal builds, or specify a program-specific cord with the Build Your Cord tool.
Recommended Autac Products for EV and Battery Lines
EV and battery manufacturing tends to push toward higher current and harsher chemical exposure than aerospace assembly. The product map shifts accordingly:
- 10 AWG / 20A retractile configurations handle the higher-current loads typical of battery-cell and pack assembly and drive-cycle test cells.
- Auta-Prene thermoset and TPR jackets resist the cutting fluids, coolants, and battery-electrolyte residues common in EV production while staying flexible for clean retraction.
- SJOW and SOW UL cord types provide oil and water resistance for wash-down and fluid-exposed stations.
- Shielded coiled cords protect instrumentation and validation signals near VFDs, inverters, and high-voltage switching gear.
The full product line is summarized below, with each family available to Georgia buyers on the same lead times from our Connecticut factory.
| Application | Recommended Cord | Typical Gauge / Jacket |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace assembly & completions tool drops | Retractile | 14–12 AWG / TPR |
| Ground support equipment & depot sustainment | Retractile | 10 AWG / TPR |
| Battery-cell & pack assembly drops | Retractile | 10 AWG / Auta-Prene |
| Drive-cycle dynamometer & test-cell feeds | Retractile / Coiled | 10 AWG / Auta-Prene, SOW |
| Signal, instrumentation & validation | Curly / Shielded Coiled | 16–18 AWG / shielded |
| Wash-down & fluid-exposed stations | Coiled / Retractile | SJOW, SOW |
For ready-to-install assemblies with molded or custom terminations, see Cord Sets, and reference the conductor color charts when matching a plant-standard wiring scheme.
Why Domestic CT Manufacturing and No-MOQ Builds Matter Here
Both Georgia sectors reward a domestic, vertically integrated supplier. Aerospace and defense programs need a US-only supply chain for ITAR compliance, demand lot traceability for audits, and value WBENC diversity-spend credit in their procurement scoring. EV and battery plants ramp fast, iterate on tooling, and need prototype cords validated before a line goes to full volume.
Autac fits both patterns. We manufacture every cord at our facility in North Branford, Connecticut — not overseas, and not in Georgia — and ship to the state via standard ground freight. Stock catalog cords typically leave our Connecticut dock within one business day, with 2 to 3 business days of ground transit to most Georgia destinations, for a total door-to-door turnaround of 3 to 4 business days. Custom-engineered cords ship in roughly 4 to 6 weeks from design sign-off.
Critically, there is no minimum order quantity. A Georgia battery-plant engineer can validate a design with a 5- or 10-piece pilot, then scale to a production run handled by the same factory team — so the specs are preserved exactly from prototype to volume. As a 100% woman-owned, WBENC-certified, UL/CUL-listed manufacturer operating continuously since 1947, Autac brings the certifications, traceability, and domestic-supply-chain story that Georgia's aerospace and EV procurement programs are built to reward.
Specifying the Right Cord for Your Georgia Program
If you are designing a tool drop, test cell, or fixture for a Georgia aerospace or EV line, the fastest path is to start with the load and the environment and work outward: pick the gauge for the current at extended length, pick the jacket for the chemistry, add shielding if signal integrity is at risk, then set the retracted length and extension ratio to fit the work envelope. Our engineering team can walk through that with you directly — you reach someone who works in the same building where the cords are made, not a call center.
To get moving, request a quote with your specifications, build a configuration in the Build Your Cord tool, or review the broader Georgia industry breakdown on our Georgia service-area page. You can also reach our team directly at 800.243.3161.