Honda of South Carolina (HSC) is investing $45m in an expansion project which the company says will create 250 additional jobs at the facility in Timmonsville.
The investment will add about 115,000 ft2 of space which will help the Japanese automaker to meet the increasing demand for its side-by-side vehicles that are made exclusively at the plant.
The expansion will include paint, weld, final assembly and material service areas. Honda says that it has already started filling some of new positions at the plant.
HSC is the exclusive worldwide manufacturer of Honda Pioneer side-by-sides, including the 500, 700 and 1000 series models.
Befor the latest announcement, Honda invested $93m and created over 150 new jobs in South Carolina in the past five years associated to side-by-side production alone.
The expansion is part of its 2017 strategy to consolidate assembly of small and medium displacement engines made at HSC to Kumamoto factory in Japan. In the Japanese plant, large displacement engines are already being produced.
At the South Carolina plant, the personnel working on powetrain assembly operations will be transferred to other responsibilities within the plant, says Honda.
Honda of South Carolina president Gary Mabrey said: "With the continued rapid growth of the side-by-side market, Honda is focused on creating an even more flexible and efficient production facility to meet that increasing customer demand.
"The step-by-step growth of our operations in South Carolina is really a testament to our outstanding associates and the great products they create for our customers every day."
