As the top producer in the world for Japanese tire maker Toyo Tire, the Cartersville, Ga., plant wouldn’t seem primed for expansion. Already, Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. churns out 11.5 million tires per year after at least four expansions over more than a decade.
But Toyo has quintupled down on the Georgia operation, announcing last week that it would spend another $138 million there, creating 150 jobs and bringing its total employment in Bartow County to 2,100 by the end of phase two’s completion. The expansion will include a 254,000-square-foot facility that will produce an additional 2.4 million tires per year.
According to The Daily Tribune News in Cartersville, the county’s joint development authority also approved a bond resolution that would refinance an existing $300 million in bond obligations from prior expansions and add on $250 million more for the current expansion while allowing more than $100 million for future plans. A public hearing on the resolution is scheduled for Dec. 12, the newspaper reported.
In a news release, Gov. Nathan Deal said the expansion proves Georgia’s global competitiveness.
“By choosing Cartersville over international competition, Toyo Tires will continue to hire from Georgia’s talented workforce and utilize our highly connected transportation infrastructure to reach its growing customer base,” Mr. Deal said, touting the state’s sustained No. 1 ranking for doing business by Site Selection magazine.
Track the company’s expansion over the years through Global Atlanta articles in the archive here: http://www.globalatlanta.com?s=toyo+tire+
Or read more from the initial 2004 announcement: Bartow County Site of First U.S. Toyo Tire Plant
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