HUNTSVILLE, AL—A pair of Japanese automotive parts manufacturers have announced plans to build new factories in northern Alabama to supply the Mazda Toyota joint-venture assembly plant under construction here. Together, the facilities are expected to employ 780 people.
On May 14, Daikyo Nishikawa US (DNUS) said it will invest $110 million build a new assembly plant in Huntsville. Expected to create 380 new jobs, the DNUS facility will produce large resin parts, such as bumpers and instrument panels.
On April 10, Toyota Boshoku announced that it would invest $50 million to build a new assembly plant in nearby Athens, AL. The factory will produce seat systems and is expected to employ 400 people.
“This is only the beginning of a growing cluster of automotive suppliers with Mazda Toyota Manufacturing,” predicts Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.In January 2018, Mazda and Toyota selected Huntsville as the site of a new joint-venture assembly plant. The $1.6 billion factory will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually and is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. Construction began in November 2018, and the facility is expected to begin operation in late 2019.
