Aurobindo Das, general manager of the Element Materials Technology high-performance engine testing facility, speaks Thursday during a ribbon cutting for the plant that is expected to employ 16 people testing engines for Bowling Green’s General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant.

When America’s sports car rolls off the assembly line at Bowling Green’s General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant, there will now be an extra layer of assurance that the high-performance engine powering the vehicle lives up to its billing.

Element Materials Technology, a London, England-based company specializing in testing, inspection and certification services for various products and processes, on Thursday formally opened a new testing facility in Bowling Green custom-made to serve the Corvette plant.

The 16,000-square-foot plant on Ambassador Drive represents a $5 million investment for Element, which plans to employ 16 people using high-tech equipment to test the engines that power the new mid-engine, eighth-generation Corvettes.

“Our new test facility in Bowling Green is custom-built to test high-performance engines such as the Corvette Z06,” Adam Tocco, Element’s director of transportation product quality testing, said in a news release.

Element, which now has more than 250 laboratories employing nearly 8,000 scientists and technical experts across 30 countries, is continuing with its new facility a history of working with GM.

“We have served GM for more than 20 years,” said Aurobindo Das, general manager of the new plant. “We’ve partnered with GM on seven different manufacturing plants.”

Aurobindo said the testing facility was built with the Corvette in mind, and he said it could test engines up to 1,300 horsepower.

Powered 100% by solar energy provided through the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Switch initiative, Element’s Bowling Green plant “has the potential to support other engines in the future,” Aurobindo said.

Bowling Green City Commissioner Sue Parrigin, speaking at Thursday’s ribbon cutting, recalled how bringing Corvette production to Bowling Green more than 40 years ago transformed the city and created a greater economic impact through “sister businesses” like Element.

“These are technical careers,” Parrigin said, “not just jobs.”

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said those technical careers can only enhance the reputation of the Corvette, which has won accolades and awards for the design and performance of the mid-engine cars.

“A company’s reputation is only as good as the quality of the product it puts out,” Buchanon said. “We believe the Corvette is a high-quality product, but Element will test that and ensure people throughout the world that this is the finest sports car in the world.”