NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc. has expanded its oxygen sensor manufacturing facility located in Sissonville, W.Va. The 8,000-square-foot expansion will allow for the installation of a new line, one dedicated to manufacturing a more technologically advanced oxygen sensor than currently assembled at that facility. Construction of the facility extension is scheduled to begin early in 2013, with a completion date at the end of the third quarter.

Additionally, NGK has announced the addition of a new assembly line to be installed in its spark plug facility, located on the same West Virginia campus. This line, which will be installed in 2013, will allow for production of a different style of plug than currently produced at the facility.

NGK says both of these new products reflect the company’s customers’ demands for new technology, designed to improve vehicle economy and allow for the change to smaller, high-performance engines.

Staffing levels at the West Virginia site are expected to increase by 34, bringing the site to a total full-time workforce of 449, by 2014. This total represents a 24 percent increase in headcount from 2010 levels.