SOUTHFIELD — The Japanese auto supplier Denso will spend $75 million on an expansion of its North American headquarters in Southfield, Denso International America Inc.
The company said it would add 120 jobs over the next three years as part of the expansion.
“This is the first in a line of investments to create the future of mobility by bringing in top talent and fostering our culture of innovation,” said Kenichiro Ito, chairman of Denso’s North America Board of Directors and CEO of Denso International America. “Expanding our team and resources now will help us make a future of autonomous cars and advanced electric vehicles possible.”
The Southfield investment will expand and renovate research and development facilities, with a focus on automotive safety, cybersecurity and autonomous vehicles. Among the renovations, Denso will expand its testing facilities and add new test equipment. In the past five years, DENSO has expanded its Southfield footprint by 44 percent with the purchase of two additional buildings and a vehicle test strip to support sales and engineering R&D activities.
Denso said it would work with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to attract and train skilled workers, and identify support opportunities through programs like Michigan Works.
Denso founded Denso International America in 1985 as the parent company for its North American operations. Since then, it has grown to seven buildings in Southfield housing design and production engineering, technical support, sales and finance functions. The site also includes Denso’s 36-acre North America Technical Center Test Chambers, which simulate a variety of real-world driving conditions that allow engineers to develop and road-test new automotive solutions.
Denso operates 28 manufacturing facilities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and employs more than 23,000 people across the North America region.
More at www.denso.com/us-ca/en.