Fuyao Glass America’s Moraine plant buzzing with activity
Perhaps no single company in the Dayton region has seen quite the ups and downs that Fuyao Glass America Inc. has, all while under the microscope.
The new North American division of the Chinese auto glass manufacturer has been market-moving news since word it was coming to town in the former General Motors plant in Moraine.
Over 2,100 workers, hundreds of robots, and millions of square feet of space are buzzing at this plant that was, for years, a literal hole in Daytonβs economy, if not a figurative hole in its manufacturing-forged heart. The rebirth of the megacomplex has engendered massive interest across the nation as a Chinese company previously unknown in this part of the world has grown to a local giant. Cho Tak Wong, a prominent Chinese businessman, has grown his profile in the United States as well.
In the latest announcement, the company has said it is expanding its warehouse in Moraine, but hasnβt elaborated further on these details since they were confirmed to the Dayton Business Journal last year. In the meantime, it has continued to grow its footprint nationally, this year announcing a $16 million processing center in South Carolina that will create 70 jobs.
βTheyβre continuing to grow all the time,β said Mike Davis, the cityβs economic development administrator. βSome of it is trying to find inventory space and in this case, an expansion on site will allow them to free up more room potentially for production.
The companyβs exact headcount has stabilized around 2,100 though additional production, if it happened, would push it higher.
Not all of the headlines have been positive β the scale of the factory has drawn attention for a unionization push, and a number of safety violations and a workerβs death further contributed to the plantβs image.
Directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert put forth a documentary, βAmerican Factory,β which covered the early days of the plantβs history. Theyβre the same local team nominated for an Academy Award for βThe Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,β which covered the Moraine plantβs closure a decade ago.
The latest is that the film debuted at Sundance and was then grabbed by Netflix shortly thereafter.
Reviews on the yet-to-be distributed film have been largely positive, but emphasize the cultural hiccups that follow as a Chinese company sets up shop in Americaβs heartland.
Central to that story is how the closure of the plant hurt the economy of Moraine β and while expansions like Fuyao and DMAX have gotten the ball rolling on automotive manufacturing in town, Davis said itβs no longer putting all its eggs in that basket.
βWeβre better positioned than we were before,β Davis said, noting expansions of Tyler Technologies, which will add 225 tech jobs; a new Kroger with 150 retail jobs; and the relocation of Shook Construction and Premier Healthβs Fidelity Home Health Care business into city limits.
The cityβs standing employers have added 800 employees in a few years, and thatβs before the attraction of the new companies.
βWe have done a good job in knowing if a big hit happened to one industry, we would feel it but can bounce back relatively quickly; not all industries are down at the same time,β Davis said.
Jim Stevenson, supporting Instructor of Industrial and Innovative Design at Cedarville University, said itβs not unusual to see new names pop up in the automotive industry given the kinds of changes it has seen the past few years and what is expected to come.
βNew players are coming into the fore because of new kinds of technology and electric cars,β he said. βWeβll see more of them working not just with the GMs of the world but places like Tesla and other startups.β
Tristan Navera
DBJ