Mitchell, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) Toshiba has merged with Etria but it is basically the same company, in the same location with the same employees doing the same thing – making toner. A ribbon cutting formally welcoming the new corporation to town was held on Thursday October 10, 2024. In attendance were state and local economic development professionals, executives from Japan as well as Governor Noem, Congressman Dusty Johnson and Mayor Jordan Hanson.
In his remarks, Congressman Johnson related a story about how his wife Jackie had worked at what was then Toshiba when she was in college. Mayor Jordan Hanson presented the Japanese executives with keys to the City of Mitchell. Governor Noem pointed out the strength of manufacturing in South Dakota as well as South Dakota’s trade partnership with Japan.
Governor Noem related that Japan imports 5% of all the goods that South Dakota exports, including 19% of South Dakota’s pork. She said that trade between Japan and South Dakota has risen by about 18,000% in the last decade. Governor Noem also praised Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden’s recent trade trip to Japan, which was focused mainly on agricultural exports from South Dakota to Japan.
Toshiba/Etria have been in Mitchell for the past thirty-six years. There was a Japanese goal setting ceremony at the conclusion of the festivities