Ceramics Manufacturer to Expand in Iredell County

Governor Pat McCrory and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker announced today that NGK Ceramics USA will expand its operations in Iredell County. The company plans to create 18 new jobs and invest more than $22 million in Mooresville.
 
“North Carolina’s workers are uniquely qualified to handle all aspects of the manufacturing process,” said Governor McCrory. “We’re thankful that NGK Ceramics USA is expanding in Iredell County. The State of North Carolina is committed to supporting the growth of advanced manufacturing.”
 
NGK Ceramics USA, Inc. is a subsidiary of NGK Insulators, Ltd. Of Nagoya, Japan. NGK Ceramics USA manufactures automotive ceramic substrates used globally in gasoline and diesel catalytic converters and directly supports and supplies all major automobile manufacturers, and heavy-duty diesel manufacturers, with high-performance components for emission control systems. The company currently employs more than 600 people at its Mooresville facility.
 
“It’s encouraging when existing manufacturers choose to reinvest in our communities and expand right here in North Carolina,” said Sharon Decker. “Our state has the highly-skilled workforce and customized training programs that advanced manufacturers like NGK Ceramics USA need to produce and deliver its products to the global marketplace.”
 
This newest addition comes on the heels of the company’s $93 million expansion announced in 2011, which is currently in the final stages of completion. Over the past 10 years, NGK’s total investment in its Mooresville site has exceeded $200 million.  NGK’s employee base has grown from 278 to 613 workers during this period.
 
“Our latest expansion enlarges the footprint of our powder preparation facility, and is scheduled to occur over the course of the next year,” said Steve Dailey, Senior Vice President of NGK Ceramics USA, Inc. “Increasing our capacity in Mooresville allows our team to efficiently increase the volume of materials we export to our NGK plants in Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, and China.”
 
NGK Ceramics USA is celebrating 25 years of manufacturing world-class products in Mooresville. The company credits a manufacturing-friendly local economic climate, rising global demand for NGK’s Honeyceram ceramics products in the automotive industry, and access to a motivated and skilled workforce as factors that have added to the success of NGK and bolstered the local economy over the past 25 years. Since its first substrate was sold, local workers have produced over 243 million substrates that are used in vehicles all over the world.  Ceramic substrates are honeycomb-like structures that are used as components in catalytic converters.
 
Tomokazu Asai, president of NGK Ceramics USA, stated, “The continued investment by NGK in our Mooresville facility is a testament to the confidence that our Japan-based senior leadership team has in our local employees, the Town of Mooresville, Iredell County, and the State of North Carolina.” 
 
Other partners that helped with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges, Iredell County, Town of Mooresville and the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation. 
 
For more information about NGK Ceramics USA, including job opportunities, visit www.ngk.co.jp/english/.