Ruyi to invest $410 million in Arkansas facility

Shandong Ruyi Technology Group (Ruyi) has decided to invest $410 million in the former Sanyo manufacturing facility in Forrest City, Arkansas. The company, headquartered in Shandong, China, will create up to 800 new jobs at the facility, where Arkansas cotton will be spun into yarn for textile use. This is Ruyi’s first facility to locate in North America.

“Ruyi Group, as the largest textile manufacturer in China, has been expanding globally. Our manufacturing facility in Arkansas will become the first milestone of Ruyi’s steps into the United States. We are dedicated to provide the product with cutting edge technology and superior quality,” said Chairman Yafu Qui.

Ruyi’s renovations on the former Sanyo building are scheduled to begin in late 2017. The Sanyo facility has been vacant since late 2007 when the company shut down production in Forrest City.

“Ruyi’s decision to locate in Forrest City brings with it up to 800 new jobs along with a significant economic impact on Arkansas’ cotton farmers. Our business missions to China, along with ongoing work to build relationships with the country’s business leaders, have now resulted in three companies from China’s Shandong Province announcing plans to locate operations in Arkansas. From Sun Paper to Pet Won Pet Products to Ruyi, we have established the state as a leader in foreign direct investment from Asia,” said Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.

Ruyi plans on processing more than 200,000 tonnes of Arkansas cotton annually at the Forrest City facility. Arkansas is the fifth largest cotton producer among all states, producing more than 840 thousand bales in 2016. Production should begin at Ruyi’s Forrest City facility by mid-2018.

“When looking to expand into North America, world-class international companies continue to choose Arkansas. “The hundreds of jobs to be created by Ruyi will have an economic impact beyond eastern Arkansas into the entire state. The announcement is further proof of Arkansas’ international momentum,” said Mike Preston, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

“This project is tremendously important to Forrest City and St. Francis County not just for the great jobs it brings to our region, but also for the value to the cash crop on which the Arkansas Delta economy has been based for more than 100 years,” said Kay Brockwell, economic development consultant for Forrest City.

“Our cotton already goes around the world to clothe people, and now our growers will have the security of a market for their crop right here at home,” Brockwell said.