Project Bulletin: July 11, 2023

Banmore is located in the central India state of Madhya Pradesh.

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Indian radial tire maker JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. has announced the completion of the first phase of capacity expansion of its manufacturing facility in Banmore, Madhya Pradesh. Each phase of expansion will increase capacity at the Banmore facility by 31%. Overall, the company’s expansion to more than 35 million tires annually by 2025 is supported by an investment from the International Finance Corporation, which since March 2023 has held a 5.6% stake in JK Tyre. “This aligns with the national vision of a self-reliant India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat), and strong focus on industrial job creation,” the IFC said in March. “The automobile industry is witnessing huge tailwinds on the back of the government’s push towards infrastructure development, higher GDP growth and large allocation of funds towards capital expenditure in India. Improved vehicle utilization, due to last mile connectivity and vehicle scrappage policy, is leading to a cyclical uptrend in the automobile and tire industry. The automotive industry accounts for almost 49% of India’s manufacturing GDP, with tire manufacturers contributing to 2%, and demand is expected to grow further.” Madhya Pradesh in central Indiana is home to a population of around 85 million — equivalent to the entire population of Turkey, according to a recently published map from Visual Capitalist. JK Tyre has nine plants in India — three each in Mysore, Karnataka, and Haridwar, Uttarakhand, and one plant each in Banmore; Kankroli, Rajasthan; and Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

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Known for its historical redevelopment of industrial property, Trussville also is welcoming new industrial employer investment.

Archive photo by Tim & Renda Carr courtesy of Historical Marker Database

As reported in the Birmingham Business Journal and Trussville Tribune, Sensorless Pump Off Control Automation (SPOC Automation), a family of technology companies specializing in power conversion electronics for lifts, is nearly doubling its footprint in the Birmingham-area community of Trussville, known for its Cahaba Homestead Village Historic District. The company, which operates according to a “lift up” philosophy that extends from its own talent to its community, has grown from 67 employees in 2020 to 180 today and expects to reach 300 on the payroll by the end of this year. The Journal cites a company press release that states SPOC now has nine buildings, including a warehouse it purchased in April from Chase Bays, which is relocating to Sloss Docks near the famous Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham’s city center. The Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation relates the history of Trussville’s own steelmaking history, as the 287-unit Cahaba Project, at one time referred to as “Slagheap Village,” was constructed in the 1930s in view of the giant slagheap at a dismantled blast furnace. The name of the federal housing project was later changed to Cahaba Village after the nearby Cahaba River.

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A $170 million expansion at the Santa Teresa port of entry is reassuring industrial investors in the Borderplex region, which encompasses Santa Teresa; El Paso, Texas; and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Photo courtesy of Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance

As reported by Noi Mahoney in Freightwaves’ Borderlands newsletter, New Mexico has landed what some are calling the state’s first major automotive parts manufacturing plant. Taiwan’s Hota Industrial Manufacturing, which produces transmission gears and shafts, will invest $72 million and create 350 jobs at a new plant on 30 acres in Westpark Industrial Park in Santa Teresa, part of the Borderplex region seeing a wave of industrial investment thanks to infrastructure investment, Alexis Elmore reported in Site Selection’s March 2023 issue. “Hota chose New Mexico’s Borderplex because of the availability of desirable land, the workforce and our logistical advantages that provides access to both Mexico’s factories and North American customers,” Alicia J. Keyes, New Mexico’s economic development cabinet secretary, said in a news release. Freightwaves cited a 2021 Financial Times report that Hota first had considered Texas for its first U.S. plant. Hota, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has a global manufacturing footprint that includes North American operations in Detroit, Los Angeles and Monterey, Mexico, in addition to five plants in Taiwan and one plant each in Japan and China.