Gov. John Kasich said the investment by Fuyao Glass Company was good news for Southwest Ohio.
"So to make an announcement today of Fuyao’s commitment to Dayton, which will result in a $200 million investment and creation of a minimum of 800 jobs," Kasich said, as an interpreter translated his remarks.
Kasich said the development was a significant investment in the United States, too.
"This investment represents the ninth largest Chinese investment in America," he said.
Fuyao chairman and founder Cao Dewang said through the interpreter that he has other business locations in South Carolina and Michigan, but they are not manufacturing plants like this one. He said the Moraine plant has special appeal for him.
"When I first saw the Moraine facility, it was like first love," Dewang said through the interpreter. "I fell in love with it right away."
The automobile windshields that will be made at the Moraine plant will be used by Honda, Hyundai and Chevrolet. Kasich credits the state’s non-profit job creation corporation, JobsOhio, for brokering the deal to get Fuyao to move into the Moraine facility.
"Sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due," said Jordan Plottner, a spokesman for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus.
He said Kasich also needs to give credit to President Obama for leading efforts to keep the American car industry alive. Plottner also credited Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who worked with local, state, and federal officials to secure more than $25 million in federal resources to aid in the clean-up and redevelopment of the site.
The first of the jobs will be available next year as production is scheduled to begin by the end of 2015.