Topre America Opens 174,000 Square-Foot Facility on Historic Site

Less than a year after Topre America announced plans to invest $46.5 million into expanding a plant in Springfield, Ohio, the Japan-based automotive parts manufacturer opened its doors to the new 174,000 square-foot facility on November 7.

The new plant specializes in stamping and high-strength steel production, both of which are essential to manufacturing light-weight vehicles that can withstand a crash while still maintaining fuel efficiency. With an increasing demand from customers to make light-weight vehicles – including orders from some of the biggest names in automotive– Topre sought to expand operations. The company found what it needed in Ohio, committing more than double its original investment of $20 million in order to operate in Springfield.

“As hoped, our plans to expand to Springfield have resulted in increased production requests from our customers,” said Vice President of Topre America, Brad Pepper. “The Springfield community is the perfect strategic location for us to locate and expand our operations. It’s simply a community that wanted our investment and worked with our leadership to make it happen,” Pepper added.

“We are pleased to welcome Topre as Ohio’s newest tier-one automotive,” said Kristi Tanner, JobsOhio senior managing director for automotive. “It is an honor to include them as one of our nearly 900 Japanese owned investors in Ohio, which represents nearly one-third of our state’s foreign direct investment. We look forward to a long and successful partnership.

Topre took over a roughly 30-acre historic industrial site that once housed a factory for International Harvester Company (Navistar International Corporation). The property was one of the attractive features that led Topre to take a closer look at Springfield.

In 2017, the Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield-Clark County, Ohio was recognized at the 2017 Ohio Economic Development (OEDA) Summit for their site selection project efforts during Topre’s expansion and received the Annual Excellence Award for Best Project.

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