Bekaert Announces Plant Expansion in Rogers
by March 23, 2016 10:48 am 154 views
Bekaert announced Wednesday a major expansion for the company’s manufacturing plant in Rogers.
The plant, which produces steel cord for the tire industry, will add capacity to increase production by 50 percent. The increase will be gradually implemented and will add more than 100 jobs.
The company currently has about 325 employees at its Rogers plant, according to the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.
The expansion is in reponse to Bekaert’s projection of continued strong and growing demand from U.S. tire manufacturers to source domestically produced tire cord.
Bekaert, which is headquartered in Belgium, began its North American operations in the 1950s, and established the Rogers plant in 1989.
“Our expansion plans fit within Bekaert’s strategy to drive growth in this very important sector,” said Bekaert CEO Matthew Taylor, who was on hand for the announcement along with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Rogers Mayor Greg Hines. “We are committed and dedicated to creating value for our customers and we are expanding the Rogers plant to contribute to the growth of the North American-based tire makers.”