Hino plans to strengthen its U.S. operations with the introduction of a new truck line and new facilities.
At a press conference yesterday, Hino announced its plan to purchase a former Coldwater Creek women's clothing distribution center and convert it into a new Hino truck assembly plant in Mineral Wells, WV, close to the current Hino plant.
The new facility is expected to open in early 2019 and will also house cab assembly, which is currently done in Japan.
"The new plant, which is four times the size of our current plant, will allow us to combine several assembly operations under one roof which will provide significant efficiency gains," said Takashi Ono, the Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. president.
"West Virginia has enjoyed a very good relationship with Hino," Jim Justice, the state's governor, said. This new plant demonstrates that Hino has confidence in our state, and West Virginia is a great place to do business. On behalf of everyone in the Mountain State, I thank Hino for their continued investment and the creation of new jobs."
Hino plans to invest $100 million in the new plant, creating about 250 new jobs by early 2020 over a two-shift operation.
In addition to producing Hino's current lineup of conventional trucks, the plant will produce a new line of Class 7 and 8 trucks that Hino plans to introduce in 2019. The truck will be powered by Hino's A09, 9-liter engine. Already sold in many other markets around the world, the Hino A09 engine has a horsepower range of 300-360 HP. Hino is planning a public reveal of the new truck at the 2018 NTEA Work Truck Show.
"These are truly exciting times for Hino in the U.S.," said Yoshinori Noguchi, CEO of Hino North America. "Our growth and customer acceptance in the Class 4-7 market are enabling us to introduce wider variety of products."
As part of Hino's growth plan, the company broke ground on a $20-million corporate office in Novi, MI, in August. Hino is consolidating all operations in its new corporate headquarters, including sales, marketing, service, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing.
Hino's Insight Diagnostic Center, which monitors vehicle performance and uptime for all Hino trucks equipped with Insight, will also operate out of the Novi headquarters.
