Hitachi Automotive Products (USA) Inc. will expand its operation in Harrodsburg, Ky., adding an advanced fuel system production line to the plant. The expansion could also result in an additional product line for hybrid electric products in the near future.
Hitachi Automotive Products (USA) manufactures electromechanical automotive parts selling to most of the world’s major automotive manufacturing companies.
Since its opening in 1986, the plant has grown from a facility occupying 40,000 square feet to more than 400,000 square feet. Employment has grown from 75 to more than 600. The latest expansion will add more than 100 jobs and a capital investment of more than $20.2 million in the Commonwealth.
“Hitachi is proud and confident that our highly skilled employees are ready for this new challenge and are excited to be a part of the future of automotive technology,” said Ken Funasaki, president of Hitachi Automotive USA.
The plant’s new production line will permit Hitachi to manufacture, assemble and distribute high-pressure fuel pumps for use in the automotive industry’s advanced direct injection fuel systems. The use of direct injection fuel systems in next-generation automobile engines improves fuel economy and reduces emissions. Hitachi presently produces similar high-pressure fuel pumps in Hitachi factories in Germany and Japan.
Hitachi is also in the process of considering the localization of its manufacturing line for hybrid electric products, which would lead to new opportunities for the Harrodsburg operation.
