First-shift employees exit the Marujun factory in Winchester Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. The factory, which employs more than 750 workers, was slated to close by November 2016, but is being sold to another company. (Photo: Jordan Kartholl/The Star Press)
WINCHESTER — Randolph County's largest manufacturer will not be shuttering its doors come November as previously expected.
Indiana Marujun, which employs nearly 700 people, and its assets will be sold in full to TOA Industries, a Japanese-based automotive parts producer, it was announced to employees late Thursday. The Winchester company, which in September 2015 said it would close down after 15 years of operation, is a subsidiary of another Japanese corporation.
The purchase — for which terms such as price and potential tax abatements have not been made public — has been in the works for a few months and will be completed in November, according to Marujun vice president of business Eric Fields.
"Negotiations began several months ago, but it was (Thursday) that an announcement was made," he said. "We're very fortunate to know that this is all in place."
TOA Industries already has a foothold in Indiana, with more than 500 jobs at its Mooresville plant, southwest of Indianapolis, including 220 added during an expansion announced in April 2014. That factory provides parts to a Subaru plant in Lafayette and a Toyota plant in Princeton. The Winchester plant could more than double the company's Indiana workforce, although it is not known how many jobs the company will retain from Marujun's workforce.
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