Honda Frame Supplier To Expand Its Alabama Facility.

KTH Leesburg Products (KLP) located in Leesburg, Alabama, a producer of frame components for Honda, said it plans a $60 million expansion of the auto part manufacturing plant. Plant manager and Vice President John Boyer said that KLP will roughly double the size of the structure, which currently stands at 170,000 square feet.

When the expansion is complete in mid-2004, KLP will be able to produce about 1,300 units every day double the current output, Boyer said. Boyer said the new equipment at the plant will include a 1,500-ton transfer press, 109 new welding robots, and around 125 new employees. There are currently 165 people employed full-time at KLP, Boyer said.

"With this new equipment, we will be able to construct different frame parts for different vehicles, depending on consumer demand," Boyer said.

KLP broke ground on June 13, 2000 and began producing frame components for the Honda Odyssey minivan in November 2001. The Odyssey is constructed at a 1.7 million-square-feet plant in Lincoln, Alabama.

KLP is a join venture of KTH Parts Industries of St. Paris, Ohio and Hongo Co. of Japan. In addition to the Leesburg facility, the company has two plants in Ohio and one in Canada.