Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 12, 1993 TAG: 9311120091
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The new workers will earn an average of $17.50 an hour, meaning they'll hold among the best-paying manufacturing jobs in the Roanoke Valley.
Income created from the new jobs and the taxes generated by the expansion should have a significant impact on the valley's economy, according to regional economic development officials.
The project is in addition to a $33 million expansion that the company unveiled in February.
Thursday's announcement involves building rail sidings and 300,000 square feet of production area at the tire factory.
The company recently has acquired building permits in Salem for construction totalling $11.2 million. A state grant of $130,000 from the Governor's Opportunity Fund will help pay for the improvements.
Buying new equipment will account for most of the costs of the $50 million expansion, said Hiro Akasha, who is overseeing the work.
New equipment will be added to improve the quality of Yokohama's products. Included will be new mixing equipment for carbon black, chemicals, oil and rubber and equipment to make rubber-textile and rubber-steel sheets for tire reinforcement.
Since purchasing the Mohawk plant in Salem in 1989, Yokohama Tire has spent $100 million in improvements and created nearly 300 jobs, bringing total employment at the plant to roughly 800.
"Yokohama makes an important contribution to an economy much larger than the Roanoke Valley," said Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership. "It's one fo the area's largest manufacturers and its payroll is dispersed throughout three states."
The expansion is the latest phase of a $200 million long-term capital improvements plan at Yokohama's Salem plant.
Yokohama made 4.6 million tires at the plant last year, but has already made 5.5 million so far this year. The plant should manufacture 6.2 million tires in 1994, Akasha said.
Yokohama Tire is the U.S. subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, which makes automotive, aerospace, marine and industrial rubber products.
by CNB