AL: Israeli Company Expanding in Auburn, Creating 25 New Jobs

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Arkal Plastic Products will establish a manufacturing facility to produce plastic parts for the automotive industry in Auburn, Alabama. The Israeli-based company will open its first U.S. manufacturing operation under the name of ARKAL Automotive USA Inc. in a brand new 32,000-square-foot facility in Auburn Technology Park West with future expansion plans of up to 110,000 square feet. The building is currently under construction and anticipated for completion in December 2011. In the first phase of this project, the new company location will result in an investment of approximately $7.2 million and 25 jobs.

“For the last two years ARKAL has collaborated in a partnership with another Auburn-based company. Business at both companies apparently is strong enough to enable both companies to expand beyond that partnership,” explained Mayor Bill Ham. “It is a good day for Auburn when a technology-driven company is planning to invest and hire people in our community,” Ham added.

ARKAL Automotive, a division of ARKAL Plastic Products, was founded in 1997 and since then, ARKAL has developed a worldwide reputation for design excellence, utilizing state-of-the-art engineering, advanced thermoplastic technologies and the latest developments in high-quality materials to produce affordable, durable long-life products. ARKAL Automotive headquarters is located in the Northern part of Israel and is the second company from Israel to start a manufacturing operation in Auburn.

Mr. Ram Drori, General Manager of ARKAL Automotive Plastic complimented Auburn’s economic development program. “The pro-business attitude and valuable input provided by the economic development team made the difference over other locations that we evaluated. We are looking for a long and good relationship with Auburn that will support our strategy of growing in this area.”

With the formation of a division strictly focused on the automotive industry, ARKAL is building a network of manufacturing operations which will allow it to service its globally operating customers. While a Canadian facility is mainly serving the automotive cluster in Michigan and Ontario, the Auburn facility will focus on supplying car manufacturers in and around Alabama. The company is also operating in Germany, Spain, Poland and China.

For more information, please see ARKAL’s web page at www.arkal-automotive.com or contact the City of Auburn Economic Development Office at (334) 501-7270.