Kajima Construction Services Inc. of northwest suburban Palatine has been named general contractor for the project. The firm had constructed the original manufacturing plant in 1988 and had worked on three previous expansion projects. This current expansion will involve about 410,000 sf added to the existing facility, which is divided into five areas: stamping, plastics, body, paint and trim/final assembly.

Paul Wiese will be project executive for Kajima. Architectural and MEP engineering services will be provided by Kajima Associates. Bloomington, IL-based Farnsworth Group is the civil and structural engineer for the project.

Mitsubishi's Normal, IL, plant produces about half of the firm's passenger car sales in the U.S. The expansion will increase the plant's capacity by 25%. This plant has been described as one of the most technologically advanced manufacturing facilities in the country, with a current annual production capacity of 240,000 vehicles. About 700 robots are used in the vehicle production facility that currently totals two million sf on a 636 acre campus at 100 N. Mitsubishi Motorway.