By Michael Lauzon
CORRESPONDENT
Published: August 6, 2013 5:34 pm ET

A German automotive supplier plans to invest more than $17.5 million to establish a plastic and metal parts manufacturing and assembly facility in Fulton, Ky., its first in the United States.
A. Kayser Automotive Systems GmbH will install plastics injection molding, blow molding, extrusion and assembly equipment in Fulton, said Kayser Automotive Chief Operating Officer Paul Ankenerand in a telephone interview. The firm is renovating an existing facility and expects it to begin operations early in 2014. It initially will employ 121.
“Kentucky is special because it meets our logistical requirements in the north [United States] and south and an existing plant in Mexico,” Ankenerand explained in an interview from Kayser’s head office in Einbeck, Germany. “It also has a skilled workforce.”
Ankenerand said Kayser Automotive is a plastics specialist that exports to the United States from its Puebla, Mexico, facility south of Mexico City. It also runs two plants in Germany and one each in Spain, Hungary, Poland and China. The family-owned firm does annual automotive sales of about $250 million and employs about 1,800.
Affiliated Kayser businesses are in textiles and filtration markets. Kayser’s origins date back more than 300 years.
Kayser Automotive’s specialties include fuel tanks, parts for engines and passenger compartments and assembly. Ankenerand did not disclose the size of the Fulton facility or whether it will be leased or owned. He said Kayser Automotive’s customer list in North America is extensive. The company counts automotive OEMs and Tier 1 firms as its key customers.
“We are happy to locate our new operations in Fulton,” stated Kayser Automotive CEO Kurt-Heinz Borth in a news release issued by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s office. “The U.S. market is very important to us, and we believe that Fulton, with its skilled employees, will ensure that we continue to live up to our high quality standards.”
Kayser Automotive is eligible for tax incentives worth up to $3 million under the Kentucky Business Investment program.
“Their decision speaks well of our business climate and strategic location,” Gov. Beshear said in a news release.
“[Tennessee Valley Authority] and the Fulton Electric System are pleased to partner with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fulton County-Hickman County Economic Development Partnership and other local leaders to help new companies to locate and expand in our service area,” said John Bradley, TVA’s senior vice president of economic development.