Aisin Announces Major Expansion at Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley Facility

INDUSTRY NEWS
Aisin Announces Major Expansion at Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley FacilityCLINTON, TN (Sept. 3, 2007) - Aisin Automotive Casting Tennessee Inc. announced a $67 million expansion to its Clinton, Tennessee facility today, a move expected to add 160 jobs to its current workforce of 400 employees. The announcement marks the third recent expansion by a top-ten auto parts maker in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, following Denso and Eagle Bend, a division of Magna International. The Innovation Valley region has evolved into a high tech center for practical, automotive research, anchored by high profile institutions such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), University of Tennessee (UT), Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and the National Transportation Research Center Inc. (NTRCI), who have formed a new initiative supporting the auto industry called the Automotive Research Alliance.  Aisin's Clinton operation is a full-process, die-casting facility that includes casting, machining and assembly to produce functional engine components, such as water pumps, oil pumps and pistons for customers located throughout the South and Midwest. The expansion bolsters the Innovation Valley's auto supply sector, which now accounts for about 20 percent of the region's manufacturing employment.  "Aisin has locations around the world," said Tim Thompson, president of the Anderson County Economic Development Association in Tennessee. "The decision to expand here shows how positive they are about the Innovation Valley's workforce and business climate."(Source: East Tennessee Economic Development Agency)