Kentucky Die Caster Continues Expansion

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Franklin Precision Industry Incorporated (Franklin, Kentucky), a subsidiary of Aisan Industry Company Limited (TYO:7283) (Ohbu-City, Japan), is in the process of equipping a recently completed $2.5 million 47,600 square foot building addition with aluminum die casting cells. The building, which increases the total space under roof to over 200,000 square feet, was completed last year. Murphy Daniel LLC (Bowling Green, Kentucky) provided construction management for the building.

Franklin Precision Industry is a Japanese transplant facility and manufactures throttle body parts for automakers in the Southeast.

The company has two operating die casting cells in the new building and has plans to add three more. Two high-end Ube Casting Machines will be delivered from Japan by the end of the year and a third machine will be installed in 2003.

The company utilizes local mechanical and electrical contractors for most in plant work. The company will bid annual contracts for both mechanical and electrical contractors in November. The contract is paid on a time and material basis and begins on the calendar year in January.

If business continues at this pace, the company expects another expansion in two or three years.

Franklin Precision is one of six international plants that Aisan Industry controls outside of its three plants in Japan. The company also has autoparts manufacturing plants in China, Indonesia, Korea, France, and the Czech Republic.