DENSO's $1 billion expansion includes Maryville operations
From Staff Reports
Automotive supplier DENSO Corp. announced today it
will be investing nearly $1 billion in North America over the next four years, bringing with it
more than 2,000 jobs. The good news for Blount County is that some of that investment, and
presumably jobs, will be coming to Maryville.
“Last year, we announced
that DENSO will drastically localize product in the regions in which we operate,” said Terry
Helgesen, senior vice president of Industry Relations at DENSO International America Inc., in a
release. “Not only are we making products in North America, but we’re also localizing critical
tooling.”
In the U.S., DENSO is looking at investing more than $750
million in Michigan, Tennessee, Iowa, California and North Carolina. The investment represents an
increase in research and development, an expansion in existing production lines, the creation of
new production lines, and the opening a new assembly and warehouse facility to support its Heavy
Duty customers.
Not only does the investment represent a
localization of technology, but DENSO’s also investing in making more of its own manufacturing
equipment and dies here. The company has dedicated a building at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee
here in Maryville, where proprietary machinery will be made. This will serve as the regional
headquarters for manufacturing machinery and dies. However, DENSO will make machinery in other
regional locations as well.
In the future, DENSO plans to make all of its
critical manufacturing equipment in North America. The company has sourced several millions of
dollars of business to American machine shops, which will positively impact the community and
create additional jobs.
DENSO will continue to invest in North
America and regions around the world.
Currently, in North America, DENSO
employs more than 14,000 people at 28 consolidated companies and affiliates. Of these, 26 are
manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In the U.S. alone, DENSO employs
more than 10,000 people in California, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Arkansas.
DENSO Corporation,
headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of
advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electric,
electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers.
Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 35 countries and regions
(including Japan) and employs more than 120,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2012, totaled US$38.4 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9.5 percent of
its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the
Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges.
In North America, DENSO employs
more than 14,000 people with consolidated sales totaling US$6.2 billion for the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2012.
