Wayne Industrial Holdings to open plant in Traer
Wayne Industrial Holdings has announced plans to bring its new division, Wayne Sweeper, to Traer, Iowa. The company tried to buy the manufacturing facility of Traer Manufacturing, the city's largest employer and street sweepers' manufacturer that had announced plans to shut down by July 2008. The negotiations failed and led Wayne to construct its own plant to manufacture street sweepers. Wayne Sweeper in the beginning will have 20 to 30 assembly jobs and has plans to reach 150 employees. Wayne Industrial Holdings, a subsidiary of T5 Equity Partners, owns the Mall of America in Minneapolis and Edmonton Mall in Canada. The company also owns Wayne Engineering, which it purchased in December.
Fisher-Price recalls Chinese-made toys
American toymaker Fisher-Price is recalling 1.5 million Chinese-made toys with concerns over paint containing excessive amount of lead. Fisher-Price's parent company, Mattel, has had its toys produced by a Chinese manufacturer, but in light of recent concerns over toxic levels of lead in its toys the toymaker has stopped shipments to retail stores. Fisher-Price will pull 967,000 plastic toys off U.S. shelves in addition to another 533,000 to be recalled internationally. The different types of toys recalled sold in the U.S. include popular ones like Elmo, Big Bird, and Dora.
Pharma Company to start manufacturing facility
Aquantum Pharmaceuticals Inc. has plans to establish a new manufacturing unit for its main operations in Rocky Mount and bring 150 new jobs to the city. The pharmaceutical company has agreed to purchase the old Schlage Lock building, which will serve as research and manufacturing site for a painkiller that will be distributed globally. The plant will create about 150 jobs within five years, including research, administrative, and manufacturing positions. The project will amount to a total investment of $7 million to $10 million, including more than $3 million to equip the building housing the manufacturing facility.
