Bowling Green Metalforming, which has been the major driver of employment growth in the Kentucky Transpark since locating in the northern Warren County industrial park in 2004, is planning another boost in its workforce.

A division of Cosma Canada/USA and a subsidiary of Canada’s Magna International, Bowling Green Metalforming announced plans Monday to invest $14.2 million in the 1 million-square-foot plant and increase employment by 27.

The company, which makes truck frame assemblies, engine cradles, trailer hitches and suspension links for such customers as General Motors and Ford Motor Co., has expanded six times since coming to Warren County and now has more than 1,600 employees.

This expansion involves no new square footage but some new equipment that will enable the company to diversify.

According to Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority documents, the Bowling Green plant will purchase a new 3,000-ton press and make some building modifications.

These moves will allow Bowling Green Metalforming to keep more business in-house and help it capture new business, according to the KEDFA documents.

“This project will benefit (the plant’s) manufacturing process by expanding its capabilities at its existing facility,” Bowling Green Metalforming General Manager Keith Gameson said in a news release.

Bowling Green Metalforming, a two-time winner of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce John B. Holland Business of the Year Award, and its parent company have experienced rapid growth in recent years.

Magna International, founded in 1957 as Multimatic Investments, now has more than 350 facilities in 28 countries and employs more than 172,000 people globally. In addition to the big U.S. automakers, Magna does business with Tesla Motors, Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota.

Bowling Green Metalforming, which briefly shut down in May when a fire at a Michigan Ford Motor Co. parts supplier disrupted production, is benefiting from state tax incentives.

At its June 28 meeting, KEDFA approved the company for tax incentives up to $600,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

According to a news release, the Bowling Green chamber has announced nine economic development projects totaling $56.57 million in capital investment and 234 new jobs for 2018.