The building that came to represent the downfall of manufacturing in Grant County should be back in operation by the end of December.
TriEnda LLC's new manufacturing facility at the south end of the former Thomson plant will employ at least 30 people in Marion by the end of the year, and leaders hope to expand to 340 new jobs with an average salary of about $16 an hour by 2012.
Herschel L. "Scotty" Scott, the vice president of human resources for the Portage, Wis.-based manufacturer of heavy-gauge thermoform products, announced the job creation Wednesday afternoon to a crowd of hundreds at the former electronics plant.
Almost all of the positions will be filled by Grant County residents."Our intention is to bring very few people here from Wisconsin," Scott said.
The company plans to occupy about 180,000 square feet on the far south end of the former electronics manufacturing plant on South Adams between 33rd and 38th streets. It said it will invest about $20 million in the Marion facility.
Scott said the company would announce its hiring plans for Marion beginning next week, and he insisted the process will move rapidly.
Part of the attractiveness of the Thomson site was TriEnda's ability to get into the building and begin working very quickly, Scott said.
"We're putting a plan together, but we will begin production by Dec. 31," Scott said.
Marion was one of several Indiana cities and several communities across the nation that was considered as a site for TriEnda's expansion.
Scott said the presence of the building, inexpensive energy, a ready work force and "a community we feel comfortable with" led to the decision to locate in Marion.
He said the local economic development team worked very hard to woo the company. The city will work with the company to provide better rail service at the factory, which also will function as a distribution center.
Scott was joined onstage by Gov. Mitch Daniels, Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold and others for the announcement.
Daniels recalled visiting Thomson shortly after the announcement in March 2004 that the facility's 990 remaining workers would lose their jobs.
"I just remember how terribly depressed and down we felt at that moment," Daniels said. "But I knew one day good news would come back here. Nature fills a vacuum, and so does a dynamic economy."
Seybold thanked TriEnda, the governor and the
Indiana Economic Development Corp. for working to make the deal possible. He also thanked businessman Lester Lee, who manages the company that owns the plant, for the foresight he had and the work he took on after Thomson left to ensure the building would one day house another manufacturer.
"He saw something in this building when a lot of us had given up hope," he said.
Seybold said after the announcement that the Thomson factory was nearly the building that broke the city's back.
"Thank God, everybody pulled together and said, 'Marion's not going to give up now,'" he said.
Ed Merchant, president of the
Grant County Economic Growth Council, said the people on stage during the announcement represented a group of people who are focused on strengthening the region's economy.
"The economy of east central Indiana just got a little stronger today," he told the hundreds gathered in the plant for the announcement.
The state and city are offering more than $2 million in incentives to TriEnda, including tax incentives and training grants. The state also plans to provide the city of Marion with a $325,000 grant to improve rail access to the site.
Tim Eckerle of the Economic Growth Council said the company will partner with
WorkOne and Ivy Tech Community College to help train its new hires.
Scott also said the electricity available at the site was a major factor. The company is the eighth-largest consumer of electricity in the state of Wisconsin, he said, and will need a large capability for the Marion plant as well.
The company also was considering a community in Iowa as late as last week. TriEnda searched states as far away as Nevada for an appropriate site.
"After conducting a nationwide search, we found the ideal location here in Marion and look forward to starting production soon," Curt Zamec, the company's president and owner, said in a news release.
TriEnda, founded in 1975, plans to hire machine operators, finishers, warehouse technicians, automation specialists, supervisors and office staff for the Marion operation.