Sekisui S-LEC America, a Japanese company that manufactures interlayer film and sound acoustic film for automotive glass use, recently announced it will open a new $43 million facility in Winchester, Ky.

Sekisui S-LEC America will construct a new facility located on 23 acres in the Winchester Industrial Park. The facility's production capacity will be approximately 6 million automobile units per year and is expected to be operational by Fall 2007.

"We are delighted to be locating our new facility in Winchester, Ky., a community with good accessibility and labor availability," Sekisui officials involved in the project commented. "The enthusiasm shown and wholehearted support given by the state and community to this project is overwhelming and we look forward to a long and successful future here."

The concentration of Sekisui's major customers along I-75 and the available industrial park complete with infrastructure also played a key role in the company's decision.

Sekisui S-LEC America is a subsidiary of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd, established in 1947, in Osaka, Japan and employer of more than 17,000 people worldwide. Currently, Kentucky is home to nearly 350 international companies employing more than 70,000 Kentuckians. With today's announcement by Sekisui S-LEC America, Japanese-owned investment now accounts for 142 of those international companies and employs more than 35,000 Kentuckians.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved Sekisui S-LEC America for up to $1.6 million in tax benefits under the Kentucky Industrial Development Act, an incentive program aimed at increasing employment in the commonwealth.