According to a report, Japan’s IHI Corp. will invest approximately $91 million over five years in its heat-treatment business. The company plans to open new facilities in Mexico and the U.S. and increase its workforce by 20%, to about 20,000, by 2020. IHI, which currently operates 42 surface-treatment facilities in 18 countries, hopes to serve up to 50 Japanese companies in two years by setting up facilities in overseas hubs of manufacturers of cutting tools and auto parts. IHI acquired VTN Beteiligungsgesellschaft, which operates five heat-treat plants in Germany, in November 2015. That acquisition was a step toward expansion in the European market.