Continuing a string of recent expansions, automotive supplier Mecaplast Group will partner with Kuroda Kagaku, a Japanese automotive components molder.
Clamart, France-headquartered Mecaplast announced the signing of an agreement for a strategic partnership Dec. 12.
The partnership will enable Mecaplast to expand its footprint in Asia, a news release indicates. Kuroda Kagaku is a Tier 2 supplier for automotive and other industries with manufacturing facilities in Japan, China and Vietnam and presses ranging from 50 to 650 tons of clamping force, according to its website.
Mecaplast currently operates a customer service center in Japan but has no production sites there. Joint projects are already under investigation, with production planned for 2018, according to the release.
Last month Mecaplast announced plans to expand its recently acquired Romanian injection molding facility, including the purchase of 10 new presses. In October, the company announced plans to acquire Key Plastics LLC, of Livonia, Mich., and also opened a brand new, $10 million facility in Silao, Mexico, its second in the country.
Mecaplast CEO Pierre Boulet is Plastics News' inaugural Automotive Newsmaker of the Year.