What HIROTEC America makes

HIROTEC America (HAI) builds the equipment that carmakers use to make car bodies. Its core work is body-in-white closure manufacturing: the stamping dies, flexible assembly tooling, hemming systems, and robotic and laser welding automation that produce and assemble doors, hoods, deck lids, and tailgates on an OEM assembly line. The company describes itself as an industry leader in lean, flexible, and agile manufacturing solutions for closure panels and body shop components.

Three product lines anchor the business. Stamping dies are designed and built in-house using simulation tools that shorten development timelines. Assembly systems combine robots, automation, and joining methods for both batch and sequence build conditions. And hemming, the process of folding an outer panel edge over an inner panel to form a closure, runs across press-and-die systems (hydraulic and electric), patented robotic roller hemming, and tabletop applications for both steel and aluminium. A newer division, HIROTEC neXt, extends the same automation expertise into autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and factory automation, with the company now taking that capability into heavy industry and logistics beyond automotive. Its stated "3 Zero" goal is to eliminate operators, tryout, and downtime through automation, virtual tooling validation, and IoT-driven predictive maintenance.

Because HAI supplies tooling and equipment rather than high volumes of finished parts, its footprint reads as an engineering and integration operation: 450-plus skilled employees and roughly one million square feet of building space across five Michigan facilities.

Ownership and history

HIROTEC America was established in metro Detroit in 1988 as Tesco Engineering Inc., to bring the HIROTEC Group's manufacturing-equipment expertise to North American OEMs. It sits at the top of the automotive supplier tiers as a direct equipment and tooling partner to the automakers. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the HIROTEC Group, a privately held Japanese automotive supplier headquartered in Hiroshima.

The parent's lineage runs deep. Uno Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the group's founding company, was established in Hiroshima in 1932, and in 1953 was tasked by Mazda to produce body components, launching it into automotive manufacturing. The business became HIROTEC Corporation in 1989 and has grown into a group of more than 16 companies across Japan, the United States, Mexico, Germany, India, China, Korea, and Thailand. Group President is Norifumi Uno. HAI is led by Chairman and CEO Katsu Uno, who also serves as an executive managing director of HIROTEC Corporation for the Americas and global tooling. In April 2024 the company promoted two long-tenured executives to its board: Phil Zanolli, who joined in 2000 and rose through operations, became Director and Chief Operating Officer, and Sharon Beetham, with the company since 1999 and a CPA, became Director and Chief Financial Officer.

HAI has expanded its Michigan base steadily. In 2021 it acquired the former Delphi East plant at 1101 N. Center Road in Flint, adding manufacturing floor space for tooling integration and planning dozens of new jobs, per mlive coverage of the deal. Its current facilities include the Auburn Hills headquarters on High Meadow Circle plus plants at Glenmeade, Summit, and Lapeer in Auburn Hills, and a New Haven, Michigan site.

Certifications and quality

HIROTEC America publishes an ISO 9001 quality certification badge under the heading "Certified to Deliver Excellence" on its company page, though the specific certificate date is not posted on-site. That claim is consistent with the sector norm for OEM tooling and equipment suppliers. The company's quality posture is built around its Kaizen and Kaikaku philosophy, pairing continuous incremental improvement with periodic transformative change, and around the "3 Zero" program that pushes tooling validation into virtual environments before physical install to reduce tryout and downtime.

Known customers

HIROTEC America supplies closure tooling and equipment to the major automakers operating in North America. Two relationships are documented through the company's own published award history; two more are reported.

As a body-in-white closure equipment supplier based in Auburn Hills, HAI sits inside the Detroit Three and transplant-OEM tooling base, which is where its five plants, its awards history, and its capability set all point.

Sourcing evidence

HIROTEC America's US import record is light and specialized, which fits an equipment maker that builds most of its tooling domestically. US customs bills of lading record 421 sea shipments from January 2015 through September 19, 2026, averaging about 2.25 twenty-foot equivalent units per shipment. Volume has been slowing recently: the most recent month on record shows a single shipment, down about 70 percent year over year. The named foreign suppliers reflect a tooling and consumables profile rather than finished goods:

By HS chapter, the mix leads with automotive parts (chapter 87), interchangeable press and stamping tools (chapter 82, including HTS 8207.30), and production machinery (chapter 84), alongside iron, steel, and stainless steel wire (chapters 72 and 73). ImportYeti also flags several internal-supplier shipments from HIROTEC group affiliates, including the Japanese parent, HIROTEC Manufacturing Thailand, and HIROTEC India, consistent with intra-group tooling and component transfers. This is the import signature of a manufacturer moving welding wire, press tooling, and production equipment into its own plants, not a reseller importing product to sell on.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does HIROTEC America make?

HIROTEC America builds body-in-white closure manufacturing equipment: stamping dies, flexible assembly tooling, hemming systems (including patented robotic roller hemming), and robotic and laser welding automation used to produce and assemble vehicle doors, hoods, deck lids, and tailgates. Its HIROTEC neXt division adds autonomous mobile robots and factory automation, extending into heavy industry and logistics.

Who owns HIROTEC America?

HIROTEC America is a wholly owned subsidiary of the HIROTEC Group, a privately held Japanese automotive supplier headquartered in Hiroshima. The group traces its lineage to Uno Manufacturing Co. Ltd., established in 1932, which began making Mazda body components in 1953 and became HIROTEC Corporation in 1989.

Who are HIROTEC America's customers?

HIROTEC America supplies closure tooling and equipment to major automakers in North America. General Motors and Ford are documented through HIROTEC's own award history: GM Supplier of the Year and Ford's World Excellence Gold Award, both received in 2001. Stellantis (FCA) and BMW are also reported among its served OEMs.

Where is HIROTEC America located?

HIROTEC America is headquartered at 3000 High Meadow Circle, Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326. It operates five Michigan facilities, including plants at Glenmeade, Summit, and Lapeer in Auburn Hills and a site in New Haven, totaling roughly one million square feet of building space.

How many employees does HIROTEC America have?

HIROTEC America reports more than 450 skilled employees across its Michigan facilities. It was founded in 1988 and is one of the HIROTEC Group's core companies outside Japan.

What certifications does HIROTEC America hold?

HIROTEC America publishes an ISO 9001 quality certification badge on its company page, though the specific certificate date is not posted. Its quality approach centers on the Kaizen and Kaikaku philosophy of continuous and transformative improvement and its "3 Zero" program of eliminating operators, tryout, and downtime.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.