FINDLAY, Ohio—Bridgestone APM Co. has selected a site in the Wheatfield, N.Y., to build a facility that will produce seat foam for customers in the North American automotive market.
The 65,000-sq.-ft. facility, located in Niagara County, is projected to be an investment of $6.5 million for the developer, the Montante Group. BAPM said it will lease the building and expects initially to invest an additional $5 million in machinery and equipment and create 60 new jobs by the end of 2017, according to a news release.
The facility will be constructed on an 11-acre site. BAPM anticipates operations to begin in the first quarter of 2017, and full production is expected to be online in the June to August timeframe of the same year.
“The Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, the town of Wheatfield and the state of New York worked collaboratively with us during every stage of our site selection process,” Takao (Taka) Ishibashi, executive vice president of the foam products division, said in a statement.
“Bridgestone APM Company is on a very tight timeline to construct our facility and begin production. We appreciate all of the hard work from state and local economic development professionals to make this happen.”
Noriyuki (Duke) Kawai, president of BAPM, said in the release that his firm was pleased with the level of professionalism exhibited by all parties throughout this process.
“Bridgestone APM Co. is committed to being an outstanding corporate citizen and local supporter in all of the communities in which we have facilities,” Kawai said in a statement. “We hope for that same continued level of commitment and support from the community. We think that Wheatfield has the talent and the resources we are looking for to continue the long-term growth of Bridgestone APM Company.”
Findlay-based BAPM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp.