Company celebrates official grand opening

Muscle Shoals - North American Lighting Inc., along with its Japan-based parent company, Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd., celebrated the official grand opening of the Muscle Shoals facility Thursday.

Local city government leaders as well as economic development individuals were present to help welcome the company to the Shoals.

Dan Robusto, president and chief operating officer for NAL, said the company is proud of the facility and has been pleased to work with area leaders on making it all come about.

"There are many people who have helped put this facility together and bring it here to Alabama," Robusto said. "We have a lot of new friends in the Shoals."

Muscle Shoals Mayor David Bradford said the Shoals, too, is proud and honored that NAL and Koito chose the Shoals.

"This has been a true group effort from the entire Shoals area," Bradford said. "We've been very pleased and happy to get along with all the North American Lighting officials."

Robusto said the area's leadership was a big part of helping the company choose the Shoals to build the plant.

"Mayor Bradford has been involved in the efforts to place the facility in the area for some time. His efforts and those of the Shoals Economic Development Authority were important in bringing this facility and jobs to the area," Robusto said.

SEDA Executive Director Forrest Wright said that in the process of working to bring NAL to the Shoals, he realized that NAL's vision, shrewd negotiations, and quality of its customers, several of which, including representatives from Nissan, Honda and Toyota, were present at the grand opening, has all been part of what has made them a successful company and desirable to the Shoals.

"Our community jointly chose to aggressively pursue this company," Wright said. "We were successful with the selection of North American Lighting."

Masahiro Otake, president of NAL's parent company, Koito, in Japan, said he believes the company's expansion of its global network to northwest Alabama was a positive move.

"We are really pleased that North American Lighting's latest plant is being opened in the Shoals," Otake said. "The incentives and assistance offered by the state of Alabama and the Shoals and the area itself was a great factor in the construction of this plant here."

With the growing automotive industry and manufacturers in the South, Otake said that he predicts that the South will become the new center of automotive production.

"We're committed to contributing to the growing economy of the South," he said.

The Muscle Shoals plant employs close to 100 individuals and has plans to expand its employee base in the next year or two.

TimesDaily Staff Writer Kenda Williams can be reached at 740-5720 or kenda.williams@timesdaily.com.