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BUFFALO--Toyota Motor Manufacturing is nearing its 15th anniversary, and on Feb. 25 it did what it has done often in those years. It announced an expansion and the creation of new jobs there.
The company said it will invest $64 million to expand its transmission line, resulting in 40 new jobs by the end of 2012.
Toyota and its 1,100 team members assemble and make parts for four- and six-cylinder engines and six-speed automatic transmissions for certain Toyota and Lexus models.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is a frequent visitor to the plant. He was instrumental in persuading Toyota to locate the plant in West Virginia, but he said he didn't expect the plant to grow so large.
"But I'm not surprised by it," he said.
When Toyota took applications for the first 300 jobs there, it received 25,000 applications. That was the first signal to Toyota that West Virginia would be a good...