Area Development
Auto supplier Topre America Corp. plans an $80 million, 98-job expansion at its operations center, 51 miles north of Birmingham, in Cullman, Alabama.

The expansion will involve a new production line that will supply parts for the 2018 Nissan Altima being built at the automaker’s plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Topre plans to install the new press line and machining equipment on an extra press pit that was built with future expansion in mind. Construction is slated to begin in the coming months.

Cullman recently celebrated the opening of the most recent expansion, a $3M, 42,000-square-foot multipurpose facility. The structure is being used for storage and distribution.

Topre America is a metal stamping parts producer for Nissan, Toyota and Honda. The Cullman location serves as the company’s North America headquarters, with additional facilities located in Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio and Mexico.

“It is always a good day when existing Alabama businesses choose to expand,” Governor Kay Ivey said. “Topre America’s expansion is a testament to the quality of our workforce and makes clear that world-class companies can and will be successful in Alabama.

“We are extremely proud the community, state and company partnership has produced such great results,” Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer. “We promised Topre that the work ethic and trainability of Alabama workers would only enhance the company reputation for production quality and this labor force has certainly delivered.”

“For us, diversity has been a real key,” he said. “All of our eggs are not in a single basket,” Greer said. “A downturn in any single industry does not crush us like it does some places.”

The Cullman location opened in 2003 with plans to create 200 jobs, and it now employs approximately 600 in the Cullman area. This latest announcement is the fifth large expansion.