A Warren County manufacturer of aluminum products for the automotive industry is expanding. The demand for lighter weight cars is spurring the expansion of Kobelco Aluminum Products and Extrusions in Bowling Green.
The company is investing $42 million to add a melting furnace, an extrusion press and fabrication equipment. The expansion will create 90 new jobs, bringing the company’s anticipated workforce to 220 employees when the project is complete in 2020.
Kobelco began production of aluminum bumper and sub-frame materials early in 2017.
The Kobelco plant is near its existing sister plant, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, which began production in Bowling Green in 2005. Kobe Aluminum produces forged suspension components for cars and SUVs. That plant employs about 500 people.
The parent company, Kobe Steel was founded in 1905 in Japan and currently has 37,000 employees in 100 locations around the world.
