Staff walk through the Athens, Tenn., Denso Manufacturing plant in this file photo.ATHENS, Tenn. -- Southeast Tennessee's automotive cluster received an economic jolt Wednesday when Denso Manufacturing unveiled plans to hire 400 more workers and invest $85 million into its plant here.
McMinn County Mayor John Gentry quipped that the next edition of the county's history likely will include the Japanese company, which already employs more than 1,450 people at the plant.
"The future of the community has been increasingly linked to Denso," he said.
ATHENS PLANT GROWTH
Denso announcements over the past three years: * January 2013 - $50 million expansion with 130 jobs * January 2014 - $55 million expansion with 130 positions * January 2015 - $85 million expansion and 400 posts Source: Denso ABOUT DENSO * Headquartered in Kariya, Japan * Employs nearly 140,000 people globally making auto parts for the world's major car makers * Company has operations in 38 countries * Sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, totaled $39.8 billion * Last fiscal year, Denso spent 9 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development Source: Denso
Gov. Bill Haslam said Tennessee has a lot at stake in the auto industry with its car makers and their suppliers.
"For every [original equipment] manufacturing job that comes, there are 10 auto supplier jobs," he said before taking a tour of the sprawling plant. "Denso is a great example of that."
The Republican governor said he also expects to see more supplier jobs open up in the Chattanooga area with Volkswagen's plans to produce a second and possibly a third vehicle at its Enterprise South industrial park plant.
"I think there will now be enough demand to encourage other suppliers to concentrate there. Volkswagen's announcement back in July will accelerate that process," he said.
Denso officials said the supplier will add 224,000 square feet to its Athens facility to produce a high-pressure pump in connection with the newest expansion.
According to Denso, the project is critical to support the growing need of gasoline direct injection in North America as automakers are turning to the technology to help meet fuel-efficiency and emissions regulations.
Ike Yamashita, the Denso plant president, said much of the plant growth announced in the past 18 months is due to higher sales of its products. He noted the factory has already added about 300 jobs since 2013.
Denso already makes spark plugs, oxygen sensors, ignition coils, fuel injection components and monolithic carriers in Athens.
Hugh Cantrell, the plant's general manager, said plans are to start hiring for the newest jobs this spring, though other positions will be added over the next three years. Jobs will be available in assembly, maintenance and some leadership roles as well, he said.
Cantrell said a previous generation of the high-pressure pump has been made in Japan and the company is bringing the product's manufacture to Athens.
Site work has already started on the expansion, with its completion slated for October. Production isn't expected to start until 2016.
The company is receiving a $3 million state FastTrack grant for construction and employee training, officials said.
Gentry said the project also is receiving property tax breaks from local governments.
Haslam said the fact that the automotive industry is healthy has meant there's a lot of demand for auto jobs in Tennessee with 80 of the state's 95 counties now housing some type of automotive manufacturing facility.
Randy Boyd, the commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said that 40 percent of the manufacturing jobs in McMinn County are at Denso and 62 percent of all manufacturing jobs in the county are auto related.
"Workforce development is one of the most important things we can do," he said, citing the Tennessee Promise scholarship plan for community college students.
Beth Jones, executive director of the Southeast Tennessee Development District, said that McMinn County is one of four in the area taking part in a program in which its high school students are exposed to the manufacturing sector.
"It's getting high school students familiar with job opportunities," she said, noting that the work typically pays "more than a living wage."
Burns Phillips, commissioner of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, presented an award to Denso officials for its safety record.
The Volunteer STAR (Safety Through Accountability and Recognition) award shows that "employees are [Denso's] most important asset," he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.