KTH Leesburg Expands to Meet Honda Production

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Incorporated, Houston, Texas). KTH Parts Industries (St. Paris, Ohio) broke ground on January 23 for the second phase of construction on an expansion project at its plant in Leesburg, Alabama (KTH Leesburg Products LLC). The expansion will more than double the size of the plant, to 290,000 square feet and will double the production output of minivan mainframe units to 1300 units a day for its main customer, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (Lincoln, Alabama).

Honda is also undergoing an expansion, at this time, to ready itself for the 2005 model year. Production on the 2005 models will begin in April of 2004.

KLP broke ground on its original plant in June 2000 and began producing frame components for the Honda Odyssey minivan in November 2001.

The expansion and plant upgrade will enable the plant to begin employing lean manufacturing techniques, which will allow for very flexible production equipment capable of producing several different models on the same platform with minimal preparation and minimum down-time and production loss, and will also allow the company to respond more quickly to sudden customer product changes due to market demands. Lean manufacturing has been a prime issue in the necessarily cost-conscious automotive industry for the last several years, spearheaded by Japanese auto manufacturers such as Toyota, among others.

James N. Gray (Birmingham, Alabama) was chosen as general contractor for the expansion project, and contracts have been awarded for all phases of the project. The new addition will house 20 welding production lines with robotic welding systems and a 1,500-ton transfer press. Construction is scheduled for completion in late September 2003, and the plant should begin production by January 2004.