(Photo: Honda)
Honda Power Equipment Mfg. is marking its 30th anniversary of operations at its Swepsonville facility with a planned $8.5 million investment in plant operations. This funding will help facilitate and innovate production processes, while continually adding to its expansive product line. One of the biggest changes will be the addition of a new plant line. Honda has currently invested nearly $250 million in its Swepsonville plant.
The Swepsonville facility is currently 375,000 square-foot and houses both Honda power equipment production and R&D operations. In 2013 alone, more than 400,000 North Carolina-made Honda power equipment products were exported to overseas markets, marking a record for the company. There are more than 600 associates employed at the Swepsonville plant, producing more than 30 million products in its 30-year history.
We are celebrating 30 years of success at Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing because of the everyday hard work of our power product associates in North Carolina, said Takuji Yamada, Honda COO of North American Regional Operations. Our founder, Soichiro Honda, believed that we could make people happy through technology. Now, many years later, Honda is still focused on using unique Honda technologies to help people get things done.
Today, Honda Power Equipment Mfg. is the sole global production source for all Honda GC and GCV general-purpose engines.
The company is supported by a network of suppliers that provide integral components for manufacturing, roughly 155 domestic and international suppliers. 45 of those suppliers are based in North Carolina. HPE has purchased nearly $500 million in parts from North Carolina suppliers, and the company will continue to work closely with the local community as the Honda business grows.
Manufacturing power products in North Carolina was once only a dream for Honda, said Shinji Oketani, HPE president. I am proud that our dream lives on today after 30 years at HPE, as well as our strong desire as a company to make products that help people improve their daily lives.
Honda Power Equipment, with headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, consists of three distinct operating units: Honda Power Equipment, Honda Marine, and Honda Engines.
SOURCE Honda
