The Wood County facility currently employs approximately 100, but will be hiring an additional 40 employees in the coming weeks, according to Sandy Ring, vice president and general counsel.

He said the production line at Williamstown has been producing eight to 10 trucks per day, but will be reconfigured to accommodate approximately 20 for an indefinite period as a reaction to current sales and a cautiously optimistic forecast.

“We hope that it’s a sign of things to come, but this is a short term situation to provide our customers with their orders in a timely fashion,” said Ring. “Adjusting the daily production on the line is something that must be planned weeks in advance. There has been a modest pick-up in demand, but most of these trucks have already been sold and we are building to fill orders.”

Hino Trucks is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the United States. The company, which is the third largest manufacturer of light and medium duty trucks, is majority owned by Toyota. Hino has headquarters in Novi, Mich., with 179 dealers across the country.

The $8.6 million Williamstown operation opened two years ago. Production began Nov. 19, 2007.

The State of West Virginia is among the customers. The Department of Transportation recently ordered 40 heavy-duty trucks for its fleet.