Frankfort Indiana Lands New Automotive Supplier

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Frankfort, Indiana is home to a newly formed joint venture automotive parts manufacturing plant. The new company is known as NTK Precision Axle Corporation USA (Plant 1062313). The joint venture partners of NTK are Takao Kinzoku Kogyo Corporation (Japan), NTN Corporation (Osaka, Japan), and Neturen USA Incorporated (Mount Prospect, Illinois). Work at the site began on November 24, 2003.

The first phase of construction will be a 60,000 square foot, $41 million building on the west side of Frankfort, which is ultimately expandable to 300,000 square feet. The plant will manufacture turned and heat-treated automotive axle components for wheel bearings and constant velocity joints (CVJ's) to the automotive industry, through companies including NTN Driveshaft Incorporated (Columbus, Indiana) and NTN Bearing Manufacturing Corporation (Elgin, Illinois). The products made at this plant enhance the ride of the automobile and increase gas mileage.

Frankfort, with 16,000 inhabitants, landed the plant with generous incentives, namely a package of property tax and investment incentives totaling $8 million, in addition to promises of any necessary infrastructure support (road widening). Frankfort's only final-round competitor for the plant, Champaign, Illinois, just couldn't compete with such generous terms.

The plant will employ approximately 100 workers and is expected to begin production in September 2004. The company expects to produce $30 million worth of shafts by 2006.