Metaldyne LLC is adding 37,000 square feet to its Bluffton, IN, plant to accommodate future expansion of automotive transmission production, specifically involving differential assemblies and aluminum valve bodies. The cost of the project was not announced, but Metaldyne indicated it would be subsidized by local and state agencies.
A separate release published locally said Metaldyne would invest more than $8 million into the project, including the cost of new production machinery, with the Bluffton City Council endorsing tax abatement for the project that would create more than a dozen jobs. Currently, the plant employs close to 300.
The construction will begin soon and completed next March.
Metaldyne described the building expansion as the first stage of a “five-year multi-million dollar capital investment plan” toward the start of new production programs at the Bluffton location. That sequence will include training and skill development opportunities for Metaldyne's employees, according to the manufacturer.
Metaldyne manufactures components for engines, transmissions, and driveline systems in cars and light trucks at 26 plants worldwide. The products manufactured at Bluffton currently are sprockets, clutch baskets, clutch hubs, sun gears, shift forks, oil pumps, steering knuckles, wheel hubs, transmission clutch assemblies, carrier cap, planetary carriers, planetary rings, planetary pinions, and differential assemblies.
"Our Bluffton operation has grown significantly over the past five years, and this expansion is indicative of our continued commitment to the community," stated Thomas Amato, president and CEO, Metaldyne LLC, and co-president, Metaldyne Performance Group. "The collaboration by local government agencies has positively impacted our decision to reaffirm our commitment to the area."
MPG is a holding company formed last year that includes HHI forging operations and Grede gray and ductile iron foundries.
The products to be produced at Bluffton following the expansion include parts that will be supplied from other Metaldyne and MPG companies’ manufacturing locations, “expanding Metaldyne's platform of vertical integration,” according to its release.