Richard Petty to help open Spectrum in Dayton

Stock car racing’s “ambassador in chief” will be at the grand opening of the Spectrum Brands facility at Dayton International Airport.

Racing legend Richard Petty will join Spectrum Brands leaders and staff at the official opening of the Global Auto Care manufacturing, distribution and research and development facility at 2800 Concorde Dr. The event will be 2 p.m. Thursday.

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Since the facility’s opening in March, Spectrum Brands’ Global Auto Care division has hired nearly 350 employees including full-time and temporary staff in the nearly 600,000 square foot campus, the company said in an announcement.

“The opening of the Global Auto Care Dayton campus provides us with the opportunity to grow and expand our customer base by having research and development, manufacturing and distribution together at one centrally located site in the U.S.,” Ken Burns, Spectrum global auto care vice president of operations, said in a statement. “We believe the growth of our campus will bring additional jobs in the years ahead, helping us to be an important business partner in the Dayton region and enabling us to solidify our partnership with local communities and organizations.”

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Spectrum said Petty has had a long relationship with one of its most recognized brands, STP. The 80-year-old “king” of NASCAR will be in attendance, the company said.

Global Auto Care is a division of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. Other brands include Armor All, Tuff Stuff and A/C PRO.

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