SISSONVILLE, W.Va. — A Kanawha County company that manufactures NGK spark plugs and NTK oxygen sensors is honoring its past and celebrating a major new advancement towards its future.
Niterra North America representatives came together with those from its Japanese partnering corporation as well as with West Virginia state and federal officials Friday to celebrate the company’s 30 year anniversary and cut the ribbon on its new, state-of-the-art distribution center at its Sissonville campus. 
Niterra established its roots in West Virginia in 1994 and its North American President and CEO Michael Schwab said that after being on an expansion journey for several years now, the opening of this 75,000 square foot distribution center marks one of their biggest milestones yet, and comes right in time with celebrating 30 years in the state.
“You know, it just means so much, and we have just had a longstanding relationship with so many of the leaders of West Virginia, and we’ve truly worked collaboratively to grow our business and work out mutually beneficial relationships through the years, and we hope that continues for many years to come,” Schwab said.
The opening of the distribution center will add approximately 30 new jobs to the 500 full-time jobs that already exist at Niterra’s West Virginia campus.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito said during Friday’s ceremony at Niterra that this company is a crucial piece in West Virginia’s workforce.
“It’s really important to us to be able to live in a place that we love, to support our families and have the technologies available to us to plant our roots if they weren’t already planted, but to keep re-planting them with our families as they go along,” Capito said.
Congresswoman Carol Miller who was also present at Friday’s ceremony said this development and investment made on this campus says so much about West Virginia workers.
“It shows how much it means to us as West Virginians to have good jobs, to be able to support our families, our state, and our country,” Miller said.
Governor Patrick Morrisey said Niterra was the first Japanese company to invest in West Virginia.
He said Japan and West Virginia have always had a special relationship with a number of important projects to come out of that relationship, and it’s critical they continue to work together.
“A few months ago when I took office, one of the first meetings I had was with the Japanese ambassador, I was really honored that he came to my State of the State, and it’s so critical for us that we maintain that critical relationship with the Japanese people and with the state of West Virginia, there’s such a rich, rich history there,” said Morrisey.
Schwab said this new facility will distribute their after-market products to distributors and retailers in the automotive industry from across the eastern half of the United States.
“So, this is the location, from Florida to New York, all the way out to eastern Texas, so big responsibility, required automation for that level of volume, and we’re just so excited for this day today for the grand opening,” he said.
He said the facility will feature an advanced robotic picking system that will allow them to become more efficient and provide a higher level of service to their customers, adding that this is new technology they have not yet seen through their West Virginia company. 
Schwab said they have also been able to add some developments to the new center that keeps protecting the environment their utmost priority through the installment of a new advanced HVAC system as well as paving the way for the implementation of solar energy system developments.
“Everything we do starts with our ability to positively impact the environment, ” Schwab said. “The next step since we’ve opened this distribution center is a solar system that will be coming to our West Virginia campus, so we’re making a big investment in solar energy to help reduce our carbon footprint.”
In addition, as part of the 30 year anniversary celebration Friday, members of the company who had been working there for the full 30, or nearly the 30 years it has been operating were recognized, and gifts between the West Virginia and Japanese officials were exchanged.
Niterra North America was formerly known as NGK Spark Plugs USA.