Kentucky New Era Archive

February 27, 1999

By E. L. Gold

Governor Welcomes Plant

Gov. Paul Patton welcomed Toyo Radiator Co.'s decision to build a new factory in Commerce Park as "another example of Kentucky's strong business relationship with Japan," according to a news release. 

Speaking Friday at a news conference in Frankfort, Patton said the Toyo Radiator plant -- which the governor helped recruit during a visit to Japan -- would make the 109th Japanese manufacturer to open a facility in the state. 

Construction of the $10 million plant should begin this spring, and production could begin in mid-2000, according to the state Cabinet for Economic Development. 

The plant will employ about 96 full-time workers in a 90,000- to 115,000-square-foot building and be located on a 27-acre site in the city's newest industrial park. 

The plant will make aluminum radiators and oil coolers for cars and recreational vehicles. 

Toyo Radiator, which also owns the CoPAR Industries, Inc. radiator factory in Hopkinsville Industrial Park, has four factories and 1600 employees in Japan.  It also has plants in Thailand, China, Indonesia and Taiwan and is working joint venture in India to produce radiators for that country's massive automobile industry. 

The CoPAR plant in Hopkinsville is Toyo Radiator's only U.S. facility.  It manufactures radiators for heavy off-road equipment and industrial use.