Carbon Activated Corporation
BY CATHY BONNSTETTER. Carbon Activated Corporation, one
of the largest activated carbon manufacturers and distributors
in the world, has opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility
in Mount Hope, WV. Utilizing the former Georgia Pacific
plant as a warehouse and service center for customers, this
location situates Carbon Activated in the heart of Appalachia,
and that is a benefit for both the corporation and the state’s
coal companies.
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc.
BY MAGGIE HATFIELD. The West Virginia plant of Hino Motors
Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. recently moved its production
and storage facilities 20 miles from Williamstown to Mineral
Wells. According to Steve Stalnaker, senior vice president and
plant manager, the move was planned in two main stages.
“In November 2018, we moved our logistics center operation
from Columbus, Ohio, to Mineral Wells,” he says. “That same
month, we also moved our cab trim operations line to our new
site, which required us to disassemble our existing line. Finally,
we took a two-week break in production to move other required
equipment, tools and fixtures.”
The plant was up and running again by May of this year.
The reasoning behind the move was the amount of growth the
company has experienced.
“Williamstown was an outstanding place to operate a business,
and we had a great relationship with the city and community,”
says Stalnaker. “Unfortunately, we just ran out of the space
required for a growing business.”
Although the building did require significant reconstruction
to meet the company’s manufacturing needs, it is four times the
size of the plant in Williamstown, which meets Hino’s immediate
needs with room for growth.
Typically, the Japanese manufacturer produces Class 6 and
7 medium duty trucks and specialized trucks. Now, with more
room for production, Hino Motors in West Virginia is able to
establish a chassis line for its new XL truck series. “We build
“West Virginia is a great location because a large percentage
of our product is made from bituminous coal,” says Tom Nash,
business development manager for Carbon Activated.
The availability of raw material is just one of many assets
West Virginia brings to the table.
“I am very excited about the area’s natural beauty and the
recreational options,” says Nash. “Those aspects can attract
employees who are experts in our industry.”
According to Carbon Activated’s website, activated carbon—
also called activated charcoal or activated coal—is used to
purify, dechlorinate, deodorize and decolorize water and air.
Customers include municipal drinking water and wastewater
facilities as well as households.
The fully operational plant will employ 55 people. Carbon
Activated is looking for people who represent several skill sets
as the operation ramps up.
“This will be a step-by-step process,” says Nash. “We are
interested in finding people who have experience in our field,
but because it is a new thing in West Virginia, that has been
a challenge. We will need some strong, mechanically inclined
people to do some of the service work, a good crop of tanker
drivers who can load and unload powder and granular material,
mechanically inclined people to operate the machines once we
build the plant and a small sales team.”
Carbon Activated opened its doors in 1993 as an importer
of activated carbon and has a manufacturing trading branch
in China and an additional plant in Sri Lanka.
our standard model and the XL on the same main assembly
line, but having two chassis sub assembly areas allows us greater
flexibility in our model mix,” says Stalnaker.
Over the past year, Hino has also been able to create 130
additional positions in all departments, including logistics,
assembly and quality.
“This move was an essential component of Hino’s strategy for
growth in the U.S. market,” says Stalnaker. “Our new assembly
line was designed to increase production capacity by 30 percent.
In addition, the new plant has incorporated the XL series
truck into the layout to provide a more diverse truck lineup for
additional applications.”
WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM
SUMMER 2019
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