POSTED: Thursday, July 26, 2012 - 7:01pm
UPDATED: Thursday, July 26, 2012 - 7:14pm
Longview, TX — A little more than a year after Joy Global purchased LeTourneau Technologies in a $1.1 billion cash acquisition, the Wisconsin-based company wants to upgrade the Longview facility and expand its wheel loader product line.
Among plans are the removal of most of the “LeTourneau domes.” Though iconic, officials said the domes are inefficient.
To make the planned upgrades, the company hopes to create at least 30 additional full-time jobs and expand its work force training capabilities.
Joy Global representatives told the board of Longview Economic Development Corp. that they would like to see $13 million invested in upgrades. They prefaced that by saying they had not yet received the go-ahead from its corporate office to proceed.
In an effort to sway Joy Global’s Wisconsin-based corporate offices to invest in its Longview facility, LEDCO board members agreed Wednesday to offer the company a $300,000 grant to offset company expenditures.
“They have other facilities across the world. They have to compete with all those other plants for corporate investment dollars,” said Susan Gill, LEDCO executive director. “We hope this will show Joy Global that the Longview community supports them, is behind them and wants them to grow.”
To read more from our newspaper partners the Longview News-Journal go here [1].