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USA - Ryobi to expand Indiana operation

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Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and Hiroshi Urakami, chairman of Ryobi Limited, meet at the Indiana Statehouse to discuss the company’s Indiana operations. While meeting, Urakami formally committed to growing his company’s operations in Shelby County.

INDIANAPOLIS — Japan-based Ryobi Limited announced plans to expand its Shelbyville operations, creating up to 150 jobs, as Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb met at the Indiana Statehouse with Hiroshi Urakami, Ryobi chairman.

“International manufacturers play a key role in Indiana’s economy. That’s especially true of Japanese manufacturers like Ryobi, which together employ more than 53,000 Hoosiers at facilities across our state,” Holcomb said.

The company will invest $97.5 million into its U.S. subsidiary Ryobi Die Casting USA, purchasing and equipping a 350,000-square-foot facility adjacent to its campus at 800 W. Mausoleum Road in Shelbyville.

The facility, which will expand the company’s operations in Shelbyville to cover four buildings across 1 million square feet, will allow Ryobi to grow its structural and engine block die casting to increase production to process 500,000 castings annually by 2018. With construction expected to begin this fall, the company plans to begin operating in its new facility by late 2017.

Ryobi, which employs 8,900 associates globally, including more than 860 in Shelbyville, plans to hire for additional manufacturing and management positions over the next 18 months. Interested applicants may apply for open positions through the company’s website.

“Ryobi Die Casting is a world-leading manufacturer of powertrain and structural/body-in-white castings,” said Tom Johnson, president of Ryobi Die Casting USA. “This investment clearly shows our commitment to the ever-expanding lightweight and fuel-efficient markets.”

Ryobi launched production in Shelbyville in 1985, which is the company’s only manufacturing location in the United States. Operating 12 manufacturing facilities across six countries,

Ryobi specializes in aluminum die casting for more than 300 different types of automobiles. Aluminum die casting helps make automobiles lighter and is a more environmentally friendly alternative than traditional steel auto bodies.

In Indiana, Ryobi produces transmission cases, housings, engine parts and structural parts for Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Honda and Toyota. A publicly-traded company, Ryobi’s 2015 sales reached $2 billion, with the majority of its revenue coming from its die cast division.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Ryobi up to $775,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.

Source: agrinews-pubs.com

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