‘Community celebration’ planned for Mitsubishi

Gov. Mike Beebe and half of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation will be in Fort Smith on Tuesday (April 6) to join in a “community celebration” and thank Mitsubishi officials for their decision to build a $100 wind-turbine manufacturing facility at Chaffee Crossing.

Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas announced Oct. 16 it will build a $100 million wind turbine manufacturing plant on 90 acres at Fort Chaffee that will employ up to 400 once fully operational.

Cheryl Garner, vice president of economic development for the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, said at the time of the announcement that Fort Smith was one of 64 sites in the original selection process. She said the process was narrowed to 12 sites, then six and finally two sites prior to the selection

Construction on the 200,000-square-foot building is set to begin in early 2011.

The public portion of the Tuesday event begins at 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at the Fort Smith Convention Center.

In addition to Beebe, U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, and U.S. Rep. John Boozman will join what Fort Smith Chamber President Paul Harvel called a “community celebration.”

“You know, they (Mitsubishi officials) weren’t able to be here when we made the announcement, so this gives us a chance to say, ‘Thank You,’ … and to let them know the community supports them,” Harvel said.

Harvel also said Beebe and members of the Congressional delegation will have the opportunity to meet privately with Mitsubishi officials.

The Mitsubishi officials in Fort Smith will include the management team for the new plant and the bosses over the management team.

Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla. The company provides a wide variety of products and services for the electric power generation industry including gas, steam, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric turbines, boilers, selective catalytic reduction systems and solar energy. The company is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), a diversified Fortune “Global 150” company with more than $30 billion in annual revenues and 40,000 employees worldwide.