RELATED: Topre to expand, add 200 jobs, invest $73M in Springfield
This is the third time in less than two years that the auto-parts maker has expanded in Springfield.
Topre made its first move in Springfield in December 2016, when the Japanese auto parts firm announced plans to invest $10 million in a new 20,000-square-foot stamping facility that would create 20 jobs.
Then in March of last year, Topre increased its investment to $55 million in a 177,000-square-foot site and adding 85 jobs after it acquired additional work supplying manufacturers like Honda and Toyota. The expansion announced earlier this month was its largest yet, with plans to add another 138,000 square feet, create 204 more jobs and invest $73 million.
That now beings the job count to nearly 300 jobs and a total investment of about $130 million.
READ MORE: Big spikes in construction last year in Springfield, Champaign County
Topre is building on what used to be the site of a large Navistar plant that was razed more than a decade ago.
Anthony Hottenstein owns the Final Cut Barber Shop just down the road from the new Topre plant. He’s pleased the site has a new occupant and said it will help the city’s reputation.
“That spot has been empty for decades now and to build a big factory like that will employ hundreds of people,” he said. “I think it will bring a lot of money to the community.”
He believes it will also have a ripple affect in the area, “from crime rates to revenue building and local businesses,” he said.
Jobs light assembly, light manufacturing, stamping and distribution along with research and development will be available. Horton Hobbs is vice president of economic development for the Chamber of Greater Springfield. The available workforce is what attracted the business here, he said.
“We have the largest workforce within forty minutes of any metropolitan area in the state and that bodes very well in ability to attract proper talent that’s necessary to fill these jobs,” Hobbs added.
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