Barcelona-headquartered automotive supplier Ficosa International SA is spending more than $50 million to build a new production center in Cookeville, Tenn., the company announced.
The new plant will include injection molding, painting and assembly operations, primarily dedicated to producing rear-view mirrors, a news release indicates. The plant will incorporate new two processes previously outsourced to Mexico and Asia: aluminum injection and the production of signal lights that are integrated into the rear view mirrors.
The 270,000-square-foot plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016.
"The new facility is a strategic move that will allow the consolidation of key operations and enable further future growth in one of the largest automobile markets in the world,” Javier Pujol, the company's global CEO, said in a statement. “Currently, the NAFTA region represents over 35 percent of the group's global sales, making it our second largest market.”
Ficosa expects to employ more than 900 at the new plant, transferring 500 jobs from its facility in Crossville, Tenn., which will be closed once the Cookeville plant is operational, and adding 400 more, the release indicates. The company also operates a production plant in Shelbyville, Ky., and lists Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Volkswagen and Nissan among its clients.