The Denso Manufacturing Athens Tennessee Inc. plant in Athens, Tenn., is shown.Auto parts supplier Denso is adding 130 jobs at its Athens, Tenn., facility as part of a $1 billion investment in North America.
Denso plans to plow $50 million into the Athens facility as it brings production of its gasoline direct injection system technology to the state, according to the company.
“It’s a good shot in the arm,” said Athens City Manager Mitch Moore about the project.
The company, that already employs more than 1,000 in Athens, is expected to start staffing, training and tooling at the plant in June, said Moore. Production is slated to begin in 2014, the company said.
Hugh Cantrell, general manager of the Denso facility, said the move is to meet demand amid rising fuel economy standards.