Demand, location key to New Albany expansion
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The senior general manager for production at TG Missouri Corp. says the company is looking to create a best-in-class automotive manufacturing operation in New Albany. The manufacturer, which produces interior and exterior automotive parts, on Monday, announced plans to invest $19 million to repurpose a facility in the Floyd County city and create 150 jobs over the next three years. Chuck Agers says the company will have room to grow inside the 50,000-square-foot location.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Agers said the decision to expand in New Albany was made for several reasons.
“Over the course of our growth at TG Missouri Corp., basically we’ve seen an additional need for interior parts,” said Agers. “Due to New Albany’s central location, it’s a great location and has great state incentives. It made sense for the expansion at that location.”
The company currently operates a manufacturing plant on the north side of New Albany and the new facility will be located a short distance away. The additional jobs will double TG Missouri’s existing workforce in the city and Agers says the company expects to be able to find the talent it needs.
“Based on pre-COVID conditions with the great employees, especially with the manufacturing know-how in that area, we feel pretty confident with acquiring the team members that we need for this expansion and any expansion in the near future,” he said. “We have a great work environment and we also have a tremendous place to grow careers for all new team members as well. Many of our employees have been from the early years of 2005 and are still with us, and many have moved up into technical and leadership roles as well.”
TG Missouri Corp. is a subsidiary of Japan-based Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd., which manufactures rubber and plastic automotive components, safety systems and LEDs. Agers says the company and its parent have been able to weather the pandemic fairly well.
“Fortunately, with us being in the automotive business, it’s always developing new products and it seems like Toyoda Gosei has been ahead of the curve for innovation,” said Agers. “For some reason, it’s great timing and it’s a good opportunity for our facility in New Albany.”
Agers says the company is in the process of installing the infrastructure in the new facility. He says mass production at the location could start as early as spring of 2022.