It was an historic event in Rochelle Thursday as Nippon Sharyo held their grand opening of their 50 Million dollars rail car facility.
More than 500 state, area, and local officials were invited to the ceremony as the company has been in operations for the past month. The 465 square foot facility is located on Ritchie Road near the intersection of I-88 and I-39.
The plant currently has 150 workers, but that figure is expected to grow to around 300 employees in the near future. Nippon Sharyo currently is making 160 Gallery-Type Electric Multiple Units for Metra in Chicago. They also have contracts with companies in California, Toronto, Canada, and Virginia
There was also 500 construction jobs involving the Nippon Sharyo project in Rochelle.
