Mitsubishi plant to be up and running by early 2012
by April 6, 2010 4:27 pm 61 views
Mitsubishi officials confirmed Tuesday (April 6) their intent to build a $100 million wind-turbine assembly plant at Chaffee Crossing, with full production and 400 jobs in place by the first quarter of 2012.
Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MPSA) announced Oct. 16 it will build a $100 million, 200,000-square foot wind turbine manufacturing plant on 90 acres at Fort Chaffee that will employ up to 400 once fully operational. Company officials said construction will start in the fourth quarter of 2010 and be complete by the fourth quarter of 2011.
Ichiro Fukue, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, provided the production update as part of a community celebration held at 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at the Fort Smith Convention Center. More than 500 (possibly up to 750) attended the event. Speakers at the event included Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, U.S. Rep. John Boozman, Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker, Baldor Chairman and CEO John McFarland and Paul Beran, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
Fukue said he was pleased with the outcome of a “very long and detailed evaluation process” that resulted in selecting Fort Smith from more than 60 other cities.
“I love this city,” Fukue said, drawing a roar of applause from the crowd. (Fukue later received laughter and spontaneous applause when he mimicked the small jump Mayor Baker does when he makes public comments.)
Fukue and chamber and state economic development officials placed a lot of emphasis on the likelihood of more job growth resulting from support and vendor companies locating in the area to support the Mitsubishi plant.
“With this first step, we look forward to further our growth of our wind turbine business and build up our supply chain in this region.” Fukue was quoted in a statement from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
The Fort Smith region can use all the job support it can muster. The Fort Smith metro manufacturing sector employed an estimated 21,200 in January, down 6.6% from January 2009 — and down 30.9% from a decade ago when January 2001 manufacturing employment stood at 30,700. The unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metro area jumped to 8.9% in January, a full percentage point higher than December 2009 and resulting in a record number of unemployed in the area.
Beebe cited a quality regional workforce as a key reason Mitsubishi picked the Fort Smith area. He also thanked all those from the state to the community level who helped ensure the 17-month process to land Mitsubishi was a success.
Fukue and other Mitsubishi officials met with the media following the celebration, with Fukue saying the company believes wind power will be a “very promising” part of the long-term future of the company. He said MPSA once had about 30% of the U.S. market share in wind turbines, but is now down to about 10%. He said the Fort Smith operation is part of the plan to restore its market share.
MPSA currently has more than 4,500 wind turbines in operation worldwide, and more than 3,000 wind turbines in the United States. The company 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.
