Metal stamper Topre America Corp. is expanding its Alabama operations in hopes of landing business with Toyota Motor Corp.’s future auto assembly plant near Tupelo, Miss.
The $34 million expansion, Topre’s second since opening in Cullman, Ala., in 2004, will make room for four additional stamping presses, said President Horoshi Chiba.
Construction will begin early next year and will be completed by the end of 2008, he said last week.
Topre stamps metal parts used in vehicles built by Honda Motor Co. in Lincoln, Ala.; Nissan Motor Co. in Smyrna, Tenn., and Canton, Miss.; and Toyota in Georgetown, Ky., Princeton, Ind., and San Antonio.
Chiba said the expansion will allow Topre to service Toyota’s newest North American factory planned near Tupelo, which will begin building Highlander SUVs in 2010.
Topre America Corp. is a subsidiary of Topre Corp. of Tokyo, which manufactures and sells press products, dies and molds, vehicle-mounted freezer equipment, air-conditioning equipment and electronic equipment.
