Home » Auto supplier Grupo Antolin opening two Louisville facilities, creating 200 jobs

Auto supplier Grupo Antolin opening two Louisville facilities, creating 200 jobs

Louisville, Ky. – Grupo Antolin, one of the largest global manufacturers of interior components for the automotive industry, will locate two facilities in Louisville, creating 200 jobs through a more than $13.7 million investment, Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced today.

“The automotive industry accounts for a significant amount of Kentucky’s economic success in recent years, and the addition of Grupo Antolin shows that trend will continue,” said Gov. Beshear. “More than 88,000 people already work in Kentucky’s auto industry. Projects such as this ensure that number will keep growing.”

Grupo Antolin, which employs nearly 350 people at its Hopkinsville plant, decided to expand its Kentucky operations based on recent and projected growth.

The company chose to lease two buildings on Westport Road in Louisville. In selecting location, company officials cited the need to ensure long-term success. The investment will cover facility upgrades and new equipment, along with start-up and lease costs. Grupo Antolin expects to start the project in November.

“We are happy to announce the opening of a new plant to fulfill our customer needs and deliver the best service,” said Pablo Baroja, president of Grupo Antolin in North America. “In Kentucky, we have found the perfect environment to make business and expand our footprint in the U.S.”

“We are excited that Grupo Antolin, a global leader in manufacturing, has chosen to expand its Kentucky production facility,” said Mayor Fischer. “Louisville has the workforce, location and strong manufacturing culture that will allow the interior automotive supplier to thrive as part of our 21st century economy. I commend Grupo Antolin for their investment in Louisville and look forward to working with them as a citizen partner.”

Grupo Antolin, founded in 1950 in Burgos, Spain, is a family-owned business that began as a mechanics garage and grew into a multinational company. It specializes in development, design and manufacturing of interior components for the auto industry, including doors, seats, lighting and instrument panels.

The company has strong international footprint with more than 160 facilities in 26 countries, employing more than 28,000 people. Grupo Antolin provides parts for more than 300 models and one out of every four vehicles manufactured worldwide.

Over the past five years, 340 motor vehicle-related projects have been announced in Kentucky, creating nearly 20,000 jobs and $4.6 billion in new investment. Last year, 21 percent of Kentucky’s announced new investment and new jobs came from automotive projects. Currently, one of every 17 private-sector jobs in the state is motor vehicle-related.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $4 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

Additionally, Grupo Antolin is eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 5,600 Kentucky companies.