Union says Yokohama plant will close next month
The union representing a majority of the employees at the Yokohama Tire plant in Salem says the plant will close March 18 under an agreement reached last week with the company.
Employees who work through the closure date will be paid through March 31, according to a social media post from the United Steelworkers Union Local 1023.
Yokohama Tire announced in January that it would lay off 392 of its 571 employees as it wound down production at the Salem plant beginning in March. The company cited reduced demand for the products made there.
The company said at the time that all tire production would end in July and the plant could close in September when its collective bargaining agreement with the union ended.
In a letter to the union at the time the layoffs were announced, Yokohama said it would meet with union officials but that it was “unlikely that discussions with the Union could modify or delay the Company’s restructuring plans.”
Yokohama Tire is a North American arm of Tokyo-based The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. The Salem plant has been operating since the 1960s, and Yokohama acquired it when it bought Mohawk Rubber Company in 1989. At its peak in 1996, the Salem plant employed 1,050 people, according to the city.
Volvo’s New River Valley plant debuts new truck line
The first units of a new Volvo truck rolled off the assembly line of the company’s New River Valley plant in Dublin this month.
The Volvo VNR, first announced in March 2025, is a regional hauler that complements the Volvo VNL, a recently launched long-haul truck.
The 2.3-million-square-foot Dublin plant is Volvo’s largest manufacturing facility and the source of all Volvo trucks for the North American market.
A current employment figure for the plant was unavailable by deadline. As of April 2025, the New River Valley plant employed about 3,400 people before it announced up to 350 job cuts.
The first VNR trucks will be delivered to the national homebuilding company Clayton, Volvo said in a news release.
“Built on a completely new platform — 90 percent new compared with the legacy model — the Volvo VNR is purpose-built for navigating congested city streets, distribution centers, and urban routes where visibility, precision, and agility are critical,” Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, said in the release.
Rooftop solar producing power at Mountain Empire Community College
Here comes the sun: More than 1,600 solar panels are now up and running on the roofs of four buildings at Mountain Empire Community College.
The school in Big Stone Gap serves the counties of Wise, Dickenson, Lee and Scott and the city of Norton.
The 768-kilowatt solar system went online Dec. 31. The developer, Secure Solar Futures, announced its completion last week.
The system is projected to produce about 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in its first year, providing about a third of the college’s power, according to a news release from Secure Solar Futures.
The college did not purchase the panels upfront. It buys the energy through a 25-year power purchase agreement with Secure Solar Futures. It’s the first Virginia community college to buy solar through a PPA.
It’s been estimated that the system will save the college about $622,000 in net electricity costs over 25 years and $2.4 million over 35 years if the college continues operating it beyond the power purchase agreement timeline.
Five Mountain Empire students helped install the panels as part of a workforce development program run by Secure Solar Futures and Got Electric, the construction contractor.
In addition to their training, the students received a $500 stipend, nine college credits and wages of $17 an hour while on the job. The five students then accepted jobs at Got Electric, according to the release.
Columbia Gas plans more work in Covington
Columbia Gas is beginning a project this month to upgrade about 3 miles of underground natural gas infrastructure in Covington.
It’s expected to wrap up in March 2027, the utility said in a news release.
The work will affect travel and parking availability along roads including North McDonald Avenue, North Monroe Avenue, North Court Avenue, West Main Street, West Locust Street, West Riverside Street, North Maple Avenue, North Lexington Avenue, West Hawthorne Street, South Maple Avenue, South Nelson Avenue, West Prospect Street, West Fudge Street, South Lexington Avenue, West Pine Street, West Oak Street and the alley between West Main Street and West Riverside Street to North Short Street to North Lexington Avenue, the utility said.
Crews will work between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and possibly on weekends. Restoration work could include temporarily patching surfaces on public and private property, with permanent restoration to follow.
Columbia Gas asks drivers passing through work zones to slow down; watch for workers, signs and road flaggers; and expect changes in speed limits or traffic lanes.
Columbia Gas announced a separate infrastructure upgrade project in November that is expected to continue into June.
Columbia Gas serves 290,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in 98 cities, towns and counties throughout Virginia, including in the Lynchburg region, part of Southside, and Alleghany and Giles counties. It is a subsidiary of Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource (NYSE:NI).
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That’s a wrap for this week. Do you know of a new business expanding or relocating in your town? Excited about a restaurant opening up soon? Maybe you’ve got an update on a story we’ve reported before. Please send your tips and suggestions to: matt@cardinalnews.org.