By AARON MUELLER
Dowagiac Daily News

NILES – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, brought good news to the area Tuesday when he visited the Niles Pilkington auto glass manufacturing plant to talk with its employees.

Cass County’s congressman said he has been encouraged by the turnaround of the automotive industry in recent months, and he honored Pilkington for its contribution to the success July 6.

“We were at 8.5 million automobiles sold two or three years ago. It looks like we’ll be over 11 million this year,” Upton said. “In our part of the state, a third of our local manufacturing jobs are auto-related. So as the auto industry begins to rebound, for all of these parts suppliers, the need is coming back.”

Upton, a co-chair of the Congressional Auto Caucus, said a key to keeping the Michigan auto industry afloat was the GM and Chrysler bailout.

“Yes, they needed a handout and they are paying it back with interest,” he said. “But had they gone down, you would have seen a lot of companies, maybe even Pilkington, go down.”

“This is one of the companies that has been a beacon for us in southwest Michigan,” Upton said.

Pilkington employs more than 200 workers at its Niles facility and produces glass for Chrysler, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Chrysler.

The company, which is launching several new products, will be hiring 45 additional jobs at the Niles plant this year. Pilkington also produces the windshields and back windows for the new Chevy Volt, a fully electric vehicle – one Upton is excited about.