Nitto to close facilities in Alabama, Ohio, Virginia; open new location in Kentucky

OSAKA, Japan—Nitto Inc., a global chemical production and converting firm that specializes in foams, rubbers, plastics and adhesives, said it will shutter one plant each in Alabama, Virginia and Ohio and open a new facility in Frankfort, Ky.

According to a Jan. 8 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing by Nitto with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 147 jobs will be eliminated at a Nitto production plant in Piqua, Ohio.

According to Nitto, another 86 employees will be laid off when a Nitto Denko Corp. manufacturing location in Chesapeake, Va., shuts its doors.

Rubber News has requested a copy of the WARN filing for the Chesapeake facility.

Further, Nitto said Jan. 8 that it will close a fabrication facility in Jasper, Ala., resulting in the loss of 56 jobs, according to a WARN filing with MadeinAlabama.com. The layoffs in Jasper are set to begin in March.

On the job creation side, about 220 full-time positions will staff a greenfield facility in Frankfort, Ky., according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office.

“Nitto will be permanently closing the (Piqua) facility and permanently terminating the employment of all of the employees employed at or reporting to the facility,” Nitto’s Jan. 8 notice filed in Ohio states. “No recall, transfer, or bumping rights exist, and no union or other employee representative represents the affected employees.”

A small number of employees will transfer from both the Piqua and Chesapeake locations to Frankfort.

According to Nitto’s filing, the 147 employees in Piqua face staggered layoffs, set to occur between March and September.

The first phase of layoffs will take place between March 7 and March 21, according to the Nitto.

The Piqua plant, an insulator supplier, custom fabricates seals for weather-proofing windows and doors, spacers to prevent squeaks and rattles, wire harness protectors for electrical systems and sound reduction and other insulation materials.

Nitto Denko Corp.—the site’s official name in Chesapeake—established itself in the region in 1989 to service the electronics and office equipment industries. 

The company later expanded into the automotive and industrial markets as capabilities evolved. Typical converting processes there include laminating, slicing, slitting, spooling, stamping and assembly.

The Jasper, Ala., facility manufactures automotive parts. 

Nitto’s new greenfield plant in Frankfort is set to open this spring.

“Nitto is excited to put down roots in the capital city and to welcome our team to the area in 2025,” said Yukihiro Horikawa, president of Nitto Inc. “The access to our customers is unparalleled in the Bluegrass region. We are enthusiastic about the community and excited to invest in Frankfort.”

Beshear said in a Jan. 9 release that the state is gaining economic momentum from industries that are seeing strong growth. 

“We continue to see quality companies like Nitto expanding to meet growing customer demand, and that is a recipe for long-term success for our economy,” he said. “I want to thank Nitto’s leadership for this new investment and look forward to their continued growth in our state.”

Nitto, which began in Japan in 1918, came to the Americas in 1968, and has since been providing services in electronics, automotive, aerospace, housing and construction, metal processing, paper industries, alternative energies, appliances, health sciences and more.

Nitto Inc. calls Teaneck, N.J., home for its Americas headquarters.

The company has other manufacturing locations in Lakewood, N.J.; Lexington, Ky.; Jasper, Ala.; Milford, Mass.; Oceanside, Calif.; Irvine, Calif.; Farmington, Utah; Jackson, Mo.; and Brazil.

Nitto employs about 27,000 people worldwide.