A piece of glass produced at the Fuyao plant has been placed in the museum at Carillon Historical Park in Dayton.
Fuyao Chairman Cao Dewang grinned as kids from the Richard Allen Academy greeted him in Chinese at a crowded event at the museum. He was back in Dayton to celebrate the first windshields rolling off the line at the Moraine plant, where his company is spending more than $300 million to build what he says will be the biggest free-standing auto-glass factory in the world.
Speaking to a large crowd, Dave Burrows with the Dayton Development Coalition said Fuyao is helping bring Dayton back to its roots.
“Our parents and grandparents worked on refrigerators and cars and the future is bright, folks, the future is bright,” Burrows said.
He and other local and Chinese leaders signed a windshield with markers, which is headed to a display in Carillon’s automotive history section alongside the last refrigerator from the old Frigidaire plant, and the last truck that rolled off the line in the GM Moraine Assembly plant, the same factory space where Fuyao is now located.
All this as Fuyao is still getting its operation going
“We will be hiring between 50 and 80 people per month for the rest of the year,” said plant manager John Gauthier.
Fuyao’s commitment of 1500 jobs comes with a package of grants and tax incentives worth almost $14 million.
Lewis Wallace is WYSO's managing editor, substitute host and economics reporter. Follow him @lewispants.
