Two Japanese companies are forming a $4.7 million joint venture in Indiana to blow mold auto parts.
KN Platech America Corp. will employ 99 people in Shelbyville, Ind., and begin limited production as soon as October in a renovated site, with full production set for 2011, said Dan Theobald, executive director of the Shelby County Development Corp. in a July 8 telephone interview.
KN is owned by Kyoraku Co. Ltd. of Osaka and Nagase & Co. Ltd. of Tokyo. It represents the first North American venture for blow molder Kyoraku. Nagase has some business in the U.S. with its additives operations. Its divisions also take in mold making, film and sheet production and raw materials.
The company will take over a building previously used as a metal stamping operation and supply parts to Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and other automakers. Honda is building a new assembly plant in nearby Greensburg, Ind.