Mazda has opened its new technical center in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The company is making a $1.6 million investment in equipment and upgrades at the center, where it rebuilds rotary engines for the RX-8.

"This is the only operation of its type in North America," said Robert Davis, the company's senior vice president for quality, research and development. The company has hired 20 people to work at the center, which also houses a technical call center and will have training programs for the company's dealers.

The 133,000-square-foot facility has room for expansion, but Davis said said expansion will depend on market conditions.

"Our remanufacturing here is primarily for rotary engines," he said. "We're looking to expand in the future, maybe to transmissions and even other automotive parts."