Takahata Precision America Breaks Ground On Major Expansion

Helenwood, TN (2011-06-06) Company executives, Senator and former Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker, local elected officials, and members of the Industrial Development Board of Scott County, along with representatives of the general contractor and architectural firm retained to construct and design the building, gathered in the Mid-County Industrial Park on Tuesday morning to break ground on a major expansion of Takahata Precision America, a local Japanese owned manufacturing facility.

Despite the ongoing global recession, one local manufacturing facility has been able to survive the economic downturn and now has turned its sights toward building a bigger, stronger company for the future. In March, Nagahisa (Nate) Tateno, President of Takahata Precision America, informally announced a planned expansion of the company’s U.S. operations. On Tuesday, Mr. Toteno, and Debra Thompson, Vice-President of American Operations, along with other company representatives, were joined by former Senator and Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker, his wife, former Senator Nancy Kassebaum, County Mayor Jeff Tibbals and a host of other dignitaries including Industrial Development Board of Scott County Chairman James (Jim) Swann, former Mayor Dwight Murphy, representatives of the Industrial Development Board, Scott County Board of County Commissioners, and others in a formal announcement of the planned expansion.

According to Rick Cox, President of Rick Cox Construction, the company hired to build the planned expansion, the project will add another 50,000 square feet to the facility. The expansion will include additional space for warehousing finished product, improved shipping and receiving facilities, and an expanded maintenance area. According to a representative of Michael Brady and Associates, the firm retained to design the expansion, the project will be constructed in two phases to lessen the impact on the plant’s ongoing operations.

Once complete, the expansion will free up space in the company’s current facility to allow it addition space to manufacture new products, which will result in the hiring of more workers. In making the announcement, President Toteno attributed the company’s success and its decision to expand locally to the local workforce, remarking he was extremely proud of the company’s local employees.

Takahata Precision America specializes in high-precision mold design and manufacturing, especially plastic injection molding parts from the automotive industry.