CROTHERSVILLE, Ind., Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aisin Drivetrain, Inc. (ADI), a business unit of Aisin Seiki, the world's largest automotive transmission supplier, today announced that it will expand its manufacturing operations and begin manufacturing six-speed automatic transmissions for the light and medium-duty commercial truck market. The announcement was made by ADI President Scott Turpin.
Production of the new automatic transmission is scheduled to begin in December, 2012, and manufacturing will take place at ADI's 350,000 square-foot plant in Crothersville, Ind., about 75 miles south of Indianapolis.
Turpin says the new six-speed transmission is designed for Class 3, 4 and 5 diesel trucks and that ADI has secured business with a major OEM customer (yet to be announced). Other OE truck manufacturers have expressed interest in ADI's commercial automatic transmissions, he says, and design discussions are underway for potential variants for specific customer applications.
"We are excited to add this six-speed automatic transmission to our product group here at ADI," says Turpin. "We'll be investing approximately $14 million for new equipment and facility upgrades, and will be adding approximately 40 new jobs in our initial phase of the program."
Founded in 1996, ADI is a global supplier of industrial transmissions for the forklift industry and steering columns for the automotive industry. ADI currently employs 146 team members with projected annual sales of over $65 million for 2011. ADI's parent company in Japan, Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of automotive components such as brakes, transmissions, drive train, chassis, body and information-related systems and components, and engine-related parts. Worldwide, Aisin has 165 consolidated companies and employs 73,000 people. In North and South America, the Aisin Group has 32 manufacturing plants, R & D and sales centers, and logistics operations, with approximately 8,000 employees.
SOURCE Aisin Drivetrain, Inc.