The Daily Dig
Astemo Americas will invest more than $112 million to increase production of hybrid electric vehicle motors at its two manufacturing plants in Berea, Kentucky. The project will add 114 new jobs and nearly 300,000 square feet of production and warehouse space.
Power Play
This investment is part of a larger, multi year program. Astemo says the full program is expected to create 282 new jobs and increase production of hybrid EV powertrain components across its Kentucky facilities.
The Mayde Road plants currently produce chassis and electric powertrain components. Astemo also runs a third Kentucky facility in Harrodsburg, which handles electric powertrain and engine management systems.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called it one of the largest single investments in Madison County in recent years, and one that will bring a near record number of new jobs to the county. Astemo Americas president and CEO Tim Clark tied the expansion to a long relationship with the state, noting the company opened its first Kentucky plant back in 1985.
Space Race
Astemo Americas isn't only growing in Kentucky. The company also announced plans in September 2025 to open a new development center and regional headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, expected to create 200 new jobs in the state.
Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley put it plainly. Astemo's growth there will reach well beyond the plant floor, since the company is the city's largest single employer.
Snapshot:
Company: Astemo Americas, Inc.
Parent Company: Astemo, Ltd. (joint venture of Hitachi, Ltd., Honda Motor Co., and JIC Capital, Ltd.)
Headquarters: Farmington Hills, Michigan
Investment: More than $112 million
Location: Berea, Madison County, Kentucky
Facilities Affected: Two Astemo plants on Mayde Road, Berea
New Jobs (Berea investment): 114
New Jobs (full multi-year Kentucky program): 282
New Space: Nearly 300,000 square feet of production and warehouse space
Scope (Berea investment): Increased production of hybrid electric vehicle motors
Scope (full Kentucky program): Increased production of hybrid EV powertrain components
Product Focus: Chassis and electric powertrain components (Berea); electric powertrain and engine management systems (Harrodsburg plant)
Other Kentucky Facility: Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Company Workforce (Americas): Nearly 15,000 employees at 23 manufacturing sites
Company Workforce (U.S.): Nearly 6,000 employees at 12 plants
Related Announcement: New development center and regional headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, announced September 2025, expected to create 200 new jobs
First Kentucky Plant Opened: 1985
TheJobWalk Thoughts
The gap between 114 jobs tied to this Berea investment and 282 jobs promised across the full Kentucky program is the number worth sitting with. Astemo hasn't described a single project. It's described an ongoing commitment to the state, and commitments like that rarely stay contained to one announcement.
Nearly 300,000 square feet of new production and warehouse space at an already active manufacturing site is a real construction package on its own, even before a delivery method or GC is attached to it. Projects that add capacity to a running plant tend to move on a different timeline than a greenfield build, and that difference is worth tracking for anyone positioning for the work.
Kentucky's automotive supply chain keeps compounding, and Astemo has been part of that build up since 1985. For GCs and subs working the Bluegrass corridor, a supplier with more than 40 years of local history and an active multi-year expansion program is worth staying close to.
Source: Astemo
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