A Kentucky-based automotive components company announced Thursday it will invest about $2.5 million and create about 60 jobs to assemble truck axles in a renovated plant in Roanoke.

Westport Corp. will supply axles for the Volvo Trucks North America plant in Dublin. Production will occur in a leased 203,000-square-foot building once used by Smurfit-Stone Container off Hollins Road.

The vacant building was a big draw, said Rena Sharpe, vice president of operations for Westport. She said existing buildings with comparable square footage can be hard to find.

Sharpe said Westport originally had focused on siting a plant in West Virginia before a Volvo Trucks official alerted them to the former Smurfit-Stone building.

Westport also liked the site's proximity to the Roanoke Regional Airport and downtown Roanoke, as well as Virginia Tech and the Volvo facility in Dublin, she said.

The Westport announcement is the first since November 2006 in which the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership has been involved directly in recruitment of a company new to the Roanoke Valley.

Other announcements in recent years in which RVEDP has helped seal the deal have focused primarily on expansion of existing companies.

The city's Economic Development Authority approved a $50,000 grant to Westport to help pay for building upgrades and installation of equipment.

Among other conditions, the grant requires hiring at least 50 full-time employees and maintaining that employment level for five years.

Chuck Hunter, vice chairman of the EDA, said the company will provide jobs, tax revenues and other benefits for the region, a combination he said merited the EDA's financial support.

Westport could receive state grants because it is located in a Virginia Enterprise Zone. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will help with job training.

The Volvo plant in Pulaski County has been adjusting production of heavy trucks to reflect weakened demand in the trucking industry for new vehicles. On May 16, it laid off 624 workers and about another 350 were laid off May 30.

"The truck market reflects the overall economy," said Jim McNamara, a spokesman for Volvo. "Demand for heavy trucks is slow."

He said the company does not make predictions about future business conditions but that heavy truck manufacturers anticipate sales will be flat in 2008, as he said they were in 2007.

Sharpe said people have asked why Westport would set up in Roanoke to assemble axles in the face of reduced production in Dublin.

"We have gauged everything toward their circumstances right now," she said. "I don't think things will get worse."

In 1986, Westport began operations in Louisville to supply Ford's Kentucky truck plant with machined I-beams and steering knuckles and arms. Since then, the company has diversified product offerings to serve other industries.

The company's headquarters are less than two miles from the Ford plant.

On June 20, Ford announced cutbacks in truck production at several plants, including the Kentucky facility. Ford cited slowing demand for larger trucks and sport utility vehicles in the face of rising prices for gasoline and other economic conditions.

"It does affect us but we are now very diversified in products and customers," Sharpe said.

Other customers include John Deere, Oshkosh trucks, McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing and several others, according to the company.

Westport has about 300 employees in the United States, Sharpe said. Its parent company is Grupo Brazil, a Brazil-based holding company.

Sharpe said Westport's work for Volvo will replace a previous supplier. She said a confidentiality agreement bars her from disclosing the supplier's name or location. McNamara also would not comment.

But axles previously supplied by Ohio-based Dana Corp. from December 2006 through February 2007 were the subject of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall in March 2007. The recall specified that the axle housings might have been manufactured with a steel that was too thin and could be susceptible to fatigue failure over time. About 86 Volvo trucks were said to be affected.

The Roanoke Valley hosts a number of companies that are suppliers to the automotive industry.

They include, among others, Metalsa Roanoke, Dynax America, Altec Industries, Salem Preferred Partners, Yokohama Tire, JTEKT Automotive Virginia (formerly Koyo Steering Systems) and Virginia Forge.

At least two -- Metalsa Roanoke and Salem Preferred Partners -- are Volvo suppliers.

Starting hourly wages at Westport's Roanoke plant will be about $12, Sharpe said. She said the company hopes to launch production by Sept. 15.

Westport plans to hold a job fair at some point, she said. Newspaper help wanted ads are also planned. Until then, people interested in applying for a job can contact the Virginia Employment Commission.