Chinese company expands former GM site in Ohio, adds 750 jobs in recycled glass manufacturing

A Chinese company will expand its automotive glass-making plant in southwest Ohio to serve as its North American hub for recycled glass manufacturing, nearly doubling its workforce at a former General Motors factory site, officials said Tuesday.

Fuyao Glass America Inc. Chairman Cao Dewang and Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced the expansion at a Statehouse news conference.

The $130 million investment is expected to create 750 more new jobs at the company's site in Moraine, near Dayton, bringing the total committed jobs at the site to 1,550 and total investment to $360 million. With the expansion, the company estimates it will produce 4 million units of glass a year for the North American market.

Fuyao is the largest automotive glass manufacturer in China and currently does all its after-market glass production there. The company is receiving a $1 million workforce training grant and a $3 million economic development grant from JobsOhio, Ohio's privatized economic development office, in conjunction with the Moraine project.

Since Fuyao announced last year that it would locate its first North American auto glass manufacturing plant in Moraine, creating 800 jobs, company officials have been assessing its plans for the site, Cao said through an interpreter.

He said the company chose Ohio for its expansion for a variety of reasons, including the support they received from Ohio officials and the state's beautiful landscapes. Ohio won the after-market operation over competitive proposals from other states in the Midwest and South as well as in Asia.

It is also exploring the idea of building an adjacent research and development facility. Cao said Fuyao will donate $7 million to the University of Dayton in hopes of collaborating with academics on new glass technologies.

Fuyao's Moraine facility will supply a U.S. customer base that includes GM, Chrysler, Safelite, Hyundai, Honda and Kia.