93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
One of mid-Missouri’s largest manufacturers has celebrated its 50th anniversary in Jefferson City by announcing a $10-million expansion.
Hitachi Energy will add 75 new jobs at their 13-acre plant near Highway 94. Governor Mike Parson joined company executives, Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe and state lawmakers for Tuesday’s announcement, saying that Hitachi provides good-paying, family-supporting jobs.
“You’ve got a sign right out in front that you turn off the road (Highway 94) today. $21 an hour if you want to come to work here. That’s just pretty good for the state of Missouri when you walk into a company like Hitachi at $21 an hour,” Parson says.
The plant opened as Westinghouse in 1972 and later became ABB. Hitachi Energy employs 950 workers at the plant. The plant makes 200 transformers per day for companies like Facebook and Amazon.
Governor Parson says the expansion highlights the importance of his commitment to infrastructure and workforce development.
“Because everybody wants infrastructure, everybody wants to have quality utilities. They want to have good roads, they want to be able to raise their families safely. And that’s what they want when it comes to infrastructure,” says Parson.
Hitachi vice president Steve McKinney joined the governor at the announcement. Mr. McKinney says as electricity emerges as the backbone of our entire energy system, more and more sectors of the economy depend on distribution transformers.
