Secretary Davin Continues 'Jobs that Pay' Tour at Nihon Kohden America in Lehigh County, Outlines Governor Wolf's New Way for Pennsylvania's Economy

News provided by

Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development

Mar 07, 2017, 12:12 ET

ALLENTOWN, Pa., March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin continued his 'Jobs that Pay' tour at Nihon Kohden America, a manufacturer, developer, and distributor of medical electronic equipment, highlighting the company's commitment to create new, high-wage jobs and establish an East Coast facility as part of a 2016 Governor's Action Team project.

Joined by Nihon Kohden America leadership, and local legislators, Davin outlined Governor Wolf's new way forward for Pennsylvania's economy through budget proposals that encourage job creation and improve workforce training.

"It is great to have an opportunity to highlight a company like Nihon Kohden America as they expand and diversify their presence in Pennsylvania creating 27 new, high-wage jobs," said Sec. Davin. "This project is a testament to our great workforce and strengthened business climate."

Nihon Kohden America expanded operations and established an East Coast facility to provide technical and product support to key installations and support biomedical training classes for consumers. As part of the project, Nihon Kohden America committed to a $445,000 investment, the creation of 27 new, high-wage jobs, and the retention of 11 current positions over the next three years.

Governor Wolf's budget continues to invest in 21st century manufacturing, workforce development, and training programs while also implementing new safeguards to ensure taxpayer dollars for economic development projects are spent appropriately and intended outcomes are met.

Governor Wolf plans on investing in job creation by:

Partnering with the commonwealth's research universities and Industrial Resource Centers to accelerate manufacturing technology advancement and adoption, foster manufacturing innovation and commercialization, and build a 21st century workforce.
Creating a new apprenticeship grant program to ensure workers can receive training aligned to business workforce needs, funded with revenue recovered from companies that fail to live up to previous commitments made when they received state assistance.
Investing $5 million in a manufacturing training-to-career grant program to partner with technical programs and community colleges to develop new training programs that align with their workforce needs.

"We are pleased to have welcomed the Secretary to our Allentown facility, where we continue to grow our team to provide exceptional support for customers," said Betzy Estrada, vice president of human resources and chief compliance executive of Nihon Kohden America. "Nihon Kohden has been certified as a great workplace for two years in a row by the Great Place to Work® Institute, and we are committed to making sure we remain among the top-rated employers in our industry. In Allentown, we are currently looking for talented technical support specialists and expect to hire network and SAP engineers in the near future."

For additional information on Nihon Kohden America, or its current employment opportunities, visit www.nihonkohden.com and www.nkusa.com. Announced in February 2016, this project was coordinated by the Governor's Action Team in collaboration with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. For more information about the Governor's Action Team or DCED, visit dced.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT: David Misner, 717-783-1132

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development