UGN, Inc.’s recently celebrated the grand opening of its new facility in Pulaski County, Ky. The 314,000 square foot Somerset plant will employ approximately 300 Kentuckians within the next three years and represents a $16 million investment.

UGN, a leading producer of automotive acoustic, interior trim and thermal management products, supplies the Japanese transplant automotive industry in North America. Its Somerset plant will produce the company’s first acoustical carpet system for 2007 production year vehicles.

"Expanding our offerings to include carpet systems to our current product line, paired with the opening of a fourth manufacturing facility is a great success for UGN," said Peter Anthony, president and CEO of UGN. "Somerset, Ky. is an excellent location for our fourth facility, and we look forward to increasing the future economic development of Somerset."

Established as a joint venture in 1986 between Nihon Tokushu Tokyo Co., Ltd. and Rieter Automotive Systems, UGN, Inc. is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has three manufacturing plants, one research and development facility, and more than 1,300 team members.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) approved UGN, Inc. for tax benefits up to $5.6 million under the Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA), an incentive program designed to locate or expand manufacturing operations in counties suffering from high rates of unemployment.