Canada’s Martinrea will build an auto parts plant in Riverside

Martinrea International Inc., a Canadian automotive parts supplier, plans to build a manufacturing plant in Riverside that will create up to 290 jobs.

A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday at 5233 N.W. 41st St., near Horizons Parkway. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, local officials and company executives are scheduled to attend, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The governor’s office said the 275,000-square-foot plant — Martinrea’s first in Missouri — will manufacture welded, corrosion-resistant engine cradles and automotive assemblies for the nearby General Motors Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan.

No financial details were available.

“Global companies like Martinrea are continuing to grow and invest in Missouri because of our experienced workforce, low taxes and stable economic climate,” Gov. Nixon said in a statement.

A spokesman from the Vaughan, Ontario-based company could not be reached for comment.

Martinrea has 38 manufacturing facilities in eight countries — including 12 in the United States — and more than 12,000 employees, according to the company’s website. Its U.S. operations are in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Michigan.

Martinrea is considered a major supplier of aluminum and steel parts and is the second-largest metal former in North America based on revenue, according to its website.

This story was originally published April 23, 2014 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Canada’s Martinrea will build an auto parts plant in Riverside."