NHK Breaks Ground in Tennessee

NHK Seating of America, a Gray Construction repeat customer, broke ground on a new automotive manufacturing facility in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Thursday, November 4, 2010. The new Tennessee home for NHK will represent an investment of nearly $54 million and is expected to reach full production in late 2012. The 51 acre site will have 2 manufacturing facilities with a total area of 140,000 square feet at launch, leaving plenty of area for further expansion. The Murfreesboro facility will initially manufacture automotive seat frames. Production equipment lineup includes 1,200 tons stamping press, 400 tons stamping press and several welding assembly machines with NHK’s cutting-edge technologies. Daiei & Co., Ltd, an automotive plastic part manufacturer, will join this new site as well.

NHK Seating of America., headquartered in Frankfort, Indiana was founded in 1989 as a joint venture between NHK Spring Co, LTD of Yokohama, Japan and Lear Corp. of Southfield, Michigan. NHK Spring celebrated their 70th anniversary last year. The corporation was formed in the United States in order to utilize NHK and Lear Technology to manufacture, assemble and distribute seating and other automotive parts to Japanese Automotive plants in North America. NHK Spring acquired 100% share of the company in 2006 and the name was changed to NHK Seating of America, Inc.

Gray is providing architecture, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering, and construction management on this new manufacturing facility for NHK. If you have automotive plant construction needs, please contact Chris Allen, Executive Vice President, Automotive Market at callen@gray.com. If you would like more information on the NHK project, please contact Gary White, Regional Manager, Bowling Green, Ky. at gwhite@gray.com.

Please see below or the attached pdf for an article that appeared in The Daily News Journal on November 5, 2010 about NHK’s Groundbreaking Ceremony.

Japanese auto supplier breaks ground on ‘Boro plant

$54M investment to create up to 224 jobs

NHK Seating of America Inc. broke ground this morning on a manufacturing facility for automotive parts near the intersection of I-24 and Joe B. Jackson Parkway in Murfreesboro.

NHK will spend nearly $54 million on construction, which began in October, and the facility is expected to employ up to 224 workers when all phases of production are implemented in 2015.

Gov. Phil Bredesen joined with Matt Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and around 200 community officials from Rutherford County in announcing plans for the facility.

“Tennessee continues to be a leading location for investment from the automotive industry,” Bredesen said in a news release. “Our state’s longstanding trade and investment ties with Japan and this investment by NHK demonstrate a high level of confidence in our state’s business climate and the ability of Tennessee workers to compete globally in the areas of efficiency, productivity and quality.”

“We’re grateful to NHK for their investment in our state and their confidence in Tennessee workers,” Kisber said. “ECD’s strong partnership with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials was integral to making this project happen, and we look forward to working with Murfreesboro and Rutherford County in the future.”

NHK Seating of America is headquartered in Frankfort, Ind., and has been in automotive parts production in the U.S. since 1987. Initial production at the Murfreesboro facility will be the manufacture of automotive seat frames, but company officials say they hope to expand the product line over time.