Aisin to invest $30 million in new 100,000-square-foot plant in Crothersville

Officials with ACIN, a Japan-based supplier of automotive industries such as Toyota, Subaru and Nissan, also announced the hiring of about 100 people by 2017.

Those jobs include engineer positions with salaries ranging from $45,000 to $65,000 and a pay range of $12 to $17 an hour for other team members.

What will they make?

The new steel-frame plant, which will sit on 39 acres north of the current 100,000-square-foot plant at 104 Industrial Way in Crothersville, will create wet friction materials for automatic transmissions, liquid applied sound dampening and anti-corrosion paint.

An investment of $30 million is expected over the next three years.

“We are proving once again Indiana is open for business,” Pence said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “This is a company that’s on the move.”

Pence said the selection of Jackson County as a location in 2006 for Aisin Chemical to build and grow is a “testament to the people of Jackson County.”

“Aisin Chemical has a world of choices, but you searched the world, you came here ... and you’re growing once again,” Pence said to the officials of Aisin.

Construction starting soon

President of Aisin Chemical Indiana LLC, Masayuki Isogami, said construction for the facility is set to begin within the next few days and is projected to be completed by June 2015.

“If all goes well, we will be ready to celebrate our grand opening for the new facility sometime in the first half of 2016,” Isogami said.

He said if that happens, it will add on to the many additions and growths Aisin has seen over the years.

“(That) makes three groundbreakings and four grand openings in roughly 10 years of existence,” Isogami said.

400 local jobs currently

Shawn Deppen, the vice president of production for Aisin North America, said ACIN along with its sister company, Aisin Drivetrain Inc., currently employs about 400 people at the Crothersville location.

“With the jobs, there’s benefits from that — not only from having all the commerce in this area but also the tax base brings a lot of opportunity for the city,” Deppen said.

Deppen said to apply for one of the positions, one can contact human resources with ACIN in Crothersville and a résumé is preferred.

Area improvements

Ardell Mitchell, Crothersville town council president, said the town continues to work to improve the area — mentioning the fixtures of the roads, the expansion of Industrial Way and the recent upgrade to the sewer plant.

Mitchell said Industrial Way will be extended to connect to Kovener Street, allowing another access to Aisin.

After bids are let this month, the extension should be completed by the end of October.

“We’re working really hard to make improvements, to improve our infrastructure,” he said.

Tim Carter, the general manager of ACIN, said the 23 acres left over after the expansion will hopefully be of use in the future after the new facility is constructed.

“Hopefully we can continue to expand using all this real estate,” he said.

The groundbreaking ceremony concluded with a presentation by Isogami of $3,000 checks to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs operated by Seymour Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and educational programs operated by Crothersville Community Schools.