Martinrea To Expand Kentucky Plant; 150 New Jobs To Result

Canadian auto parts manufacturer Martinrea International Inc. is expanding it’s heavy stamping plant in Shelbyville, Kentucky and adding 150 jobs in the process.

The expansion will help the company serve Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant, which will begin manufacturing the newest model of the Ford Escape. The company will invest $12 million into the expansion after being approved for nearly $3 million in tax rebates.

According to the plant manager of the Shelbyville facility, Shawn Adelsberger, 45 of those jobs will be reinstatements of workers who were previously laid off.

Those who are being reinstated will be called back to work by the year’s end along with some of the new hires. Another portion of the new hires will take place in the first quarter of 2012.

The new jobs will include benefits and a wage of about $15 an hour, said Adelsberger.