By ANNIE GOELLER, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Two Franklin companies could benefit from Monday's announcement that Honda Civic sedans will be produced at the new plant in Greensburg.
NSK Corp. and KYB Manufacturing North America Inc., two automotive manufacturers in Franklin, make parts for the Civic and could get more business based on Honda's needs.
KYB already has started an expansion, which would more than double the size of its building, to prepare for both the new Honda plant and when Toyota begins production at a plant in Lafayette, said David Billingsley, president of the KYB Franklin plant.
The contract between NSK and Honda hasn't changed, but the company could increase the number of parts they get from the Franklin plant, said Jim McGinnis, human resources manager. NSK makes wheel bearings for the Honda Civic and the Accord.
Honda conducted a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $550 million vehicle assembly plant at the Greensburg site Monday and made the announcement about the Civic sedan, a staple of the car company.
"Building the Civic is a big responsibility," said Koichi Kondo, president and CEO of American Honda, at the ceremony that Gov. Mitch Daniels also attended. "That should tell you how confident we are in the people of Indiana."
The factory, part of a $1.18 billion global expansion, eventually will produce 200,000 vehicles annually, increasing Honda's North American production to 1.6 million a year. The Japanese automaker has said the plant will employ about 2,000 people when it opens in fall 2008
NSK and KYB supply parts to Honda's plant in North Liberty, Ohio, which also produces the Civic.
Company officials have not yet made a decision on whether the Civic will continue to be made at the Ohio plant as well as the Indiana plant. As of now, both plants will make the Civic, said Alicia Jones, spokeswoman for Honda.
Honda is KYB's second-largest customer behind Toyota, Billingsley said.
The company already was gearing up for a bigger workload before the announcement came that the Civic would be produced at the Greensburg plant. KYB supplies shock absorbers and struts for all four-door Civics in the U.S. and Canada, he said.
A new Honda plant means more work for the company, which also supplies parts for the Honda Element, the Ridgeline and a luxury vehicle made by the company.
"As they continue to grow and add plants and market share, KYB will continue to grow," Billingsley said.
Construction already has started on the expansion, which will add 51 jobs and 260,000 square feet to the 220,000-square-foot building. The expansion is expected to be completed by spring 2008.
And the company has more room on its 52-acre site for future expansions, Billingsley said.
"We can expand more. That would be our intention. We don't intend to leave Johnson County," he said.
Billingsley wouldn't say how much business KYB gets from Honda yearly, but said they receive orders daily.
The new Honda plant is expected to produce 200,000 vehicles per year.
That added work would be in addition to the 100,000 vehicles that will be produced when Toyota moves into an existing Subaru plant in Lafayette, he said.
Both automakers will need time to train workers and get set up before reaching their maximum production amount, but KYB wanted to prepare ahead of time, Billingsley said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report