Gov. Pence at North American International Auto Show
Governor Mike Pence spent the day at the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, strengthening relationships with automotive industry leaders and showcasing Indiana as home of the second largest automotive sector in the United States.
“It’s easy to see Indiana’s role in the global automotive industry at events like the North American International Auto Show,” said Pence. “One minute we’re learning about how Indiana fits into General Motors’ strategic locations, the next we’re hearing how businesses like Aisin supply other automotive companies throughout the state. Indiana excels at supporting these supply chains, with meetings today that look to make them even stronger.”
During the day-long trip, the governor joined leaders from the world’s most influential automotive companies, including meeting with Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors. Meeting at the company’s headquarters in Detroit, Pence and Barra discussed innovations in the automotive industry and GM’s current operations in Indiana.
Pence kicked off the job-hunting trip meeting with leaders of two Italy-based companies, OMR and Sirmax. OMR, a tier 1 automotive supplier for the Fiat Group, announced plans this morning that it will locate its North American headquarters in Speedway, Ind., investing $10 million into its new Indiana operations and creating up to 60 new jobs by 2016. He then met with leaders of Sirmax, a supplier of plastic compounds and resins, which later in the morning announced plans to invest more than $25.6 million into a new 140,000 square-foot facility on a 26.3 acre campus in Anderson, the company’s first facility in North America, creating up to 50 new jobs by 2020.
Throughout the afternoon, the governor paid visits to the NAIAS exhibition booths, joining leaders of Toyota, Honda and Subaru at each company’s booth at the auto show, meeting with the plant manager of Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana operation. Toyota, Honda and Subaru all operate in Indiana, making it the only state in the nation that is home to three Japanese original equipment manufacturers. Just last year Toyota announced that it plans to invest $100 million to boost production of the Highlander midsize sport utility vehicle in Princeton, creating up 300 new jobs by 2016.
Leaders of Fisher Dynamics, a GM supplier, met with the Governor later in the day at GM’s exhibition booth. In November, Fisher Dynamics announced its plans to locate its first Indiana facility in Evansville, creating up to 169 new jobs by 2017. Stopping at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles booth later in the day, the Governor saw Chrysler vehicles on display that use transmissions produced at the company’s Kokomo and Tipton, Ind., facilities. The Governor also met with Japan-based AISIN, a supplier for Toyota, Lexus and Chrysler that announced last May plans to expand in Crothersville, Ind., creating up to 74 jobs by 2016.
“Indiana’s strength in the automotive industry is international,” said Pence. “Today with OMR and Sirmax’s decisions to bring their first U.S. operations to Indiana, they’re committing to create more than 100 new jobs for Hoosiers. That’s on top of the thousands of Hoosiers on the job already working for international companies like Toyota, Honda and Subaru and for their hundreds of suppliers. Indiana is a strong player in the international economy, and even stronger when it comes to building cars that travel on roads around the world.”
Indiana produced more than 1.1 million cars and light trucks in 2013, directly employing more than 124,000 Hoosiers at more than 630 automotive companies across the state.
The North American International Auto Show is one of the most prestigious automotive shows in the world, with more than 34,000 attendees joining automotive professionals representing 2,000 companies from around the globe.