Japanese manufacturer set to close Chesapeake plant

Nitto, a Japanese developer of technology and manufacturer of products for automotive, aerospace and other industries, plans to close its Chesapeake plant by September, laying off 86 workers.

The company notified the state of the closure Jan. 8 in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The Nitto plant is at 809 Principal Court, in the Greenbrier Business Center. An entity connected to Nitto owns the building.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Jan. 9 that Nitto plans to open a multimillion-dollar facility in Frankfort, creating 220 full-time jobs.

Nitto plants in Alabama and Ohio are also closing, according to Rubber News.

“It’s very unfortunate,” said Steven Wright, director of economic development for the City of Chesapeake. “I guess if there is a silver lining, [it’s that] they waited until after the holiday season.”

Nitto stated in its notice that “a small number of employees” from Chesapeake will transfer to a Nitto facility in Frankfort.

The first group of layoffs will take place March 7 to 25, and the second phase will be in September. The affected employees are not represented by a union, according to the notice.

Chesapeake officials were not told the reason for the plant’s closure, according to Wright. According to Nitto’s website, its Chesapeake location opened in 1989, servicing electronics and office equipment industries, but it expanded into automotive and industrial markets later. The plant combines foams, rubbers, plastics, felts, adhesives and liners to create finished products.

The Japanese parent company purchased what was known as Nistem Precision in 2007.  In 2017, the name of the Chesapeake business changed from Nitto Denko Automotive Virginia to Nitto.

The global company Nitto, which employs more than 27,000 people worldwide, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Our hope is certainly that we can identify other opportunities for them,” Wright said of Nitto’s local workers. “I feel certain that there may be some other manufacturers in our city, in our region, that will get these people employed.”