JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) -- A wind energy company says construction will begin in July at a new $100 million wind turbine factory in Jonesboro.
Carter Justice, the senior project manager for construction for Nordex USA, made the announcement Wednesday, on Earth Day.
By 2012 Nordex plans to be able to produce 300 turbines each year and hire more than 700 people, locally, for the Jonesboro production facilities.
The Nordex plant is to manufacture and assemble wind turbines. The company has 187 acres in the Jonesboro Technology Industrial Park.
Nordex's plans are moving forward despite some slowdowns in the wind energy business. LM Glasfiber has announced it will lay off at least 150 people at one of its two plants in Little Rock. The company will sustain production with 350 workers at its factory on the Arkansas River at the Port of Little Rock.