The Komatsu America plant in Chattanooga has expanded several times over the 33 years it has been making heavy equipment, and there are plans to continue to grow, an official says.
"Business is good. We plan to keep growing," said Walt Nichols, general manager for Komatsu, which on Wednesday was named the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association's Company of the Year.
CRMA AWARDS
* Company of the Year: Komatsu America* InSpires Award: David Wade, EPB chief executive* Supply Chain Award: Koch Foods* Energy/Environmental Award: EPB* Safety Award: T.J. Snow Co.
Nichols said Komatsu now employs about 500 people at its Signal Mountain Road facility, which officials say has seen some $100 million in investment over three decades.
The plant builds midsize hydraulic excavators and some forestry products, Nichols said. He said workers have started to re-manufacture engines, and the forestry line is relatively new.
"The economy has been good. Employment has been stable," the plant's general manager said.
The factory handles the ups and downs of business cycles by the use of temporary employees, he said.
"We don't like to lay off full-time employees," Nichols said. "That's one of the reasons we're a solid employer in Chattanooga."
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said at the CRMA's annual luncheon that he doesn't expect to see a new round of tariffs imposed on goods.
"The administration is very flexible, but skilled in the way it's going about these negotiations," he told the group of several hundred people at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Fleischmann said he had thought the administration might be "erring a little bit" in its trade negotiations.
"They were very successful," he said. "It has had good results with the European Union and also some very good results with China."
Concerning a potential infrastructure bill in the future, Fleischmann said the problem is paying for such legislation.
"There's tremendous bipartisan support to get it done," he said. "If there's anything in Congress that Republicans and Democrats can agree on, it's infrastructure."
But, Fleischmann said, the question is if there's enough political courage to fund it.
"We're going to have to get some bipartisan consensus," he said. "We're going to have to be honest with the American people. If you want to build better roads, have better bridges, make a great infrastructure program, we're going to have to fund it and make sure we have a workforce that can do it."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.