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Beebe plans economic development announcement in Marion Thursday, May 31, 2007 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Beebe and Hino Motors officials scheduled a news conference for Thursday at the company's Marion plant to make an economic development announcement. Beebe's office did not divulge the nature of the announcement Wednesday and the economic development director for the eastern Arkansas city twice passed over for Toyota manufacturing plants declined comment. Gov. Mike Beebe planned to be at the Hino Motors Manufacturing USA plant in Marion to commemorate shipment of the 100,000th axle produced there, and planned to the economic development announcement after touring the facility. Kay Brockwell, Marion's economic development director, declined to comment on the governor's appearance. In April, Hino Motors Ltd. announced it had achieved record sales figures in 2006 and that it would consider adding a second U.S. factory for medium-duty trucks in the Southeast. At the time, Hino marketing manager Chad Bamberg said an official announcement on whether the company would do so could come in the next several months. He also said then that the company was no longer considering the Marion site, where Hino already has a $160 million, 400,000 square-foot parts facility. "If the plans are to build another plant in the near future, that would be a separate location in the Southeast," Bamberg told the Arkansas News Bureau. "I don't know why. There is no official reason." Since then, other Hino officials reportedly have said Marion was still being considered. Toyota Motor Corp. owns 50.1 percent of Hino. Toyota twice considered Marion for manufacturing plants, choosing San Antonio instead for a Tundra truck plant several years ago and picking a site near Tupelo, Miss., in February for an SUV plant. |
