(May 11, 2011)



Good craftsmanship, leadership and community support were key factors in Dahlonega's Koyo Bearings plant being chosen for expansion, said Tom Takahashi at Friday's groundbreaking for a new 77,000-square foot facility.

Takahashi is the CEO of Koyo Bearings USA. He was joined by Japanese-owned parent company JTEKT's chairman for its North American operations Noriya Murase, as well and state and local dignitaries, for the occasion.

In 2010, the Dahlonega plant shipped 5.5 million parts and had only four complaints. In addition, the plant had no serious accidents for the year. Both of these facts were “... a big part of the decision we made,” Takahashi said.

Two plants, Dahlonega's and one in Tennessee were in the running for the expansion.

Another factor in Dahlonega's successful bid was support from both the state and local government. The state will be helping to provide training for the 40 to 50 new positions through its QuickStart program. The program, said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle at Friday's ceremony, is one of the reasons “... Georgia leads the nation in workforce development. Government doesn't create jobs. The private sector creates jobs. But government can and does create an environment for business to succeed.” Turning to Takahashi and Murase he added, “We value you, we want you to stay, and we are committed to your success.”

Locally, the Development Authority of Lumpkin County, with support from the Downtown Development Authority, city and county governments, also helped to make the expansion here possible. Koyo will receive a 10-year tax abatement on new construction that will save the company $1.4 million. The abatement is graduated, with Koyo paying an increasing portion of taxes on its $55 million investment each year of the abatement for a total of over $800,000 in new taxes over the 10-year life of the abatement. Koyo will continue to pay taxes on its existing facility during this time.

Both Takahashi and plant manager Barry Byers thanked the current 155 employees for their hard work in making the plant both efficient and safe.

“This plant celebrated 30 years of making needle roller bearings and providing jobs to the community last year. Many of the people who work here have been with us that long, or nearly that long. We're like a big family. In 2008 this plant was down to 40 percent of production and had gone from 300 to 120 employees because of the industry downturn,” Byers said. “Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves we concentrated on improving the plant. we knew business would come back, and we wanted to be ready. Today is the culmination of trying to make Dahlonega Koyo Bearings a better manufacturing plant and a better place to work-and to make sure we are here 30 years from now.”

“This is great news for the hometown folks,” Sen. Steve Gooch, Executive Director of the Development Authority said. “It's great to be able to get up and go to work 10 minutes from where you live.”

The expansion is expected to be complete in February 2012, with production beginning before the end of the year's first quarter. Job seekers can find more details on how to apply for the new positions by calling Koyo at 706-864-7691.

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