Somic America, Inc.
“The outstanding
workforce and the strong level of commitment and partnership shown
by Wythe County and the Commonwealth were the main factors leading
us to choose Virginia.”
Peter
Argue
Vice
President of Operations
Somic America, Inc.
Wythe County's Progress
Park has turned into the perfect location for Japanese-owned Wytheville
Technologies, Inc. (WTI), which produces steering component parts
for Toyota and others in the automotive industry. Along with Brewer
Automotive Components, Inc. (BAC), which also operates in Progress
Park, Wytheville Technologies merged to form Somic America, Inc.
Wytheville Technologies
was the park's first tenant in 2001 when 11 employees began working
in a newly constructed 67,000-sq.-ft.-facility. This soon became
an incubator of sorts to two other companies with Japanese connections,
Atsumi Car Equipment (ACE) and BAC.
All experienced growth,
and in 2003, WTI began construction of a 160,000-sq.-ft. building
in Progress Park.
"We've had solid
growth since we've come to Wytheville, and our employees are exceptional
and dedicated," said Peter Argue, who was Vice President of
WTI and is serving as Vice President of Operations of Somic America,
Inc.. 
Being a supplier for Toyota
is both an honor and a challenge, said Argue. "There is an
extensive customer approval process with three ladders of approval."
Approvals come from the Toyota Technical Center in the U.S., Toyota
Motor Corporation's directors in Japan and the Toyota plant that
receives Wytheville's components. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art
plating line with environmental controls and backup systems to remove
metals from the waste water. The Wytheville facility will plate
for almost all Toyota plants in North America.
The merger gives Somic
America direct access to machining and plating capabilities and
will make the company more competitive in the challenging climate
of the automotive industry. WTI has been a major supplier of material
and plating services to BAC for several years.
Somic America is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Somic Ishikawa of Hamamatsu, Japan. Somic America
manufactures suspension and steering components at three manufacturing
facilities, two in Wytheville, Virginia, and one in Brewer, Maine.
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