Another round of new jobs is slated for the area as an automotive and industrial supply company looks to expand.

Topura America Fastener is tentatively planning to build a $9.34 million addition to its building on Monterey Court, creating about 30 new jobs that will pay an estimated hourly wage of $16.90, according to a report from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

The plant currently employs about 65 people. It received approval for a total of $750,000 in state tax incentives, according to the state report.

Company officials declined to comment.

Topura manufactures fasteners and screws for automotive companies and other industrial uses. The company was founded in Bowling Green in 1987 as TWN Fastener Inc. In 2006, Topura Inc., a Japanese fastener manufacturer, took over.

Now, the company operates its only U.S. plant in Bowling Green and five other plants in Japan.

Manufacturing and auto suppliers in particular were hit hard in 2009 by the recession. Unemployment still is running above 10 percent in Kentucky, with the figure for Warren County at 9.2 percent for March, the most recent month available.

But Topura is one of several expansions announced in the area this past year. Country Oven Bakery on Pioneer Drive recently announced a 63,000-square-foot expansion that will create 33 new jobs.

The company, which produces baked goods for Kroger stores across the nation, is investing $23.4 million to expand, bringing its total job count to nearly 500 employees.

A local recycling company recently announced expansion plans and its owner, David Bradford, opened a new recycling business, creating a total of 50 jobs and investing more than $5 million.

Owl’s Head Alloys, a company on Mitch McConnell Way that melts aluminum products for reuse, is building a 12,000-square-foot addition and adding 30 new jobs.

Next door, Metalworks Recycle-Reload, a wholesale metal processing center, recently opened, creating about 20 new jobs.

“When you look at the jobs that are being added to our local economy in the last six months, an overwhelming majority of those jobs are coming from existing businesses,” Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker said.

Walker attributes those expansions to local economic leaders working with existing businesses and national companies consolidating operations in Bowling Green. Company officials are willing to locate or expand businesses locally due to a strong work ethic, she said.

“We have a very high level of productivity in our area,” she said. “There’s a lot of community support for companies and so that’s another reason we’re seeing that expansion, and there’s been a little bit of easing in terms of financial support for expansion.”

Regionally, five companies have announced plans to locate or expand in Franklin so far this year, bringing 300 jobs and investing $40 million into the community.

One such company, World Color, a printing company, plans to add 135 new jobs and 105,000 square feet to its building, investing $9.8 million.

In Glasgow, pharmaceutical company Amneal Pharmaceuticals recently announced plans to expand and add 48 jobs, although about 20 of those jobs are moving from Monroe County.