Arthur, Illinois-based C.H.I. Overhead Doors LLC is seeking to expand its manufacturing into Terre Haute, adding 130 jobs.
Those jobs would have an annual cost of $5,675,000, which is an average annual salary of $43,680, according to documents filed with the Terre Haute City Council. The average pay is $21 per hour.
“Within the next three to four months, we expect there to be 45 jobs created nearly instantly just to get this thing up and off the ground,” Andrew Strange, director of operations for Overhead Doors, told members the City Council Thursday.
The company is seeking a 10-year personal property tax abatement from the city. Overhead doors was founded in 1981 and is a manufacturer of high-quality residential garage doors, commercial doors and rolling steel overhead doors.
“Terre Haute would be our manufacturing site, so we will manufacture garage doors here in Terre Haute ... then ship them out as finished goods, so there will be no distribution. We don’t do distribution directly, we deliver truckloads to our dealers per their orders,” Strange said.
The company plans to make a total investment of $11.7 million, with the bulk of that — $9 million — for manufacturing equipment. This is where
the company is seeking a tax abatement, which gradually phases in taxes over the abatement period. The abatement would save the company more than $442,000 in taxes over 10 years.
“We have approximately $7 million in invested capital equipment that is already purchased and ready to go to our site chosen for our expansion,” Strange said. “We are excited to consider Terre Haute for this expansion.”
If approved for the abatement, the company expects to get the equipment operational in Terre Haute by the end of this year, Strange said, with further equipment purchases through 2023, according to documents submitted to the city.
The company plans to purchase an existing warehouse at 1440 Savannah Avenue, which was constructed in 1998 in the Fort Harrison Industrial Park. The company plans to spend $2.7 million, which includes $2.5 million to purchase the warehouse and $200,000 for building improvements including electrical improvements.
Councilwoman Tammy Boland questioned if that hourly wage includes benefits. Overhead Doors CEO Dave Bangert told the council benefits are in addition to the hourly rate, which includes health, dental and vision insurance as well as 401K benefits and vacation. Bangert said each employee also gains from dividend earnings from the privately-held company’s stock.
Council President Earl Elliott asked what the company would do for community involvement.
Strange said in Arthur, Illinois, the company supports community festivals and is a leading sponsor of the Illinois Amish Historical Society, as 10 to 15 percent of its workforce in Arthur is Amish or Mennonites.
“We look to be involved locally and ways to tie our associates with what is going on,” Strange said. On a national scale, the company partners with
“Homes for Our Troops, which provides mortgage-free homes (to veterans) who lost one or more limbs in service to our country,” Strange said.
The council unanimously approved the first step, adopting a tax abatement resolution. The council is slated to vote on final adoption of the tax abatement at its Oct. 14 meeting.
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