An aircraft component manufacturer plans to invest $3 million to expand its current facility in Franklin.
Airtomic, a division of Sargent Aerospace & Defense and RBC Bearings Inc., is requesting a tax break to facilitate an expansion of its 30,000-square-foot building at 75 Linville Way.
The Franklin Economic Development Commission forwarded a favorable recommendation to the city council to approve a pair of seven-year real property and five-year personal property tax abatements. The commission also recommended approval to make the property an Economic Revitalization Area, or ERA.
The Franklin City Council unanimously approved a declaratory resolution for the ERA on Monday but the council will make a confirmatory vote on the designation at its meeting on April 21. The council will also vote on the proposed tax abatements following a public hearing.
The company plans to build a 20,000-square-foot expansion, which officials say would accommodate anticipated growth in the coming years, according to the tax abatement application.
Airtomic has been in Franklin since 2006 and has increased its space three times already. The company started in a 9,000-square-foot building, then expanded into a 16,000-square-foot building before building their current 30,000-square-foot facility in the Franklin Business Park, said Dana Monson, Franklin community development specialist.
She added that when the company built that facility in the business park in 2019, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett told them they needed more space. While company officials thought it would be at least 10 years before they would need more space, they ended up asking for more in half the time, she said.
“They are doing some incredible work and incredible things in a little 30,000-square-foot facility,” Monson said.
The company expects to hire 27 employees while retaining 63 employees. If all goes as hoped, the company could employ as many as 100 at the facility. The new positions will have an average hourly wage from $30 to $35 per hour, Monson said.
The company previously received a 10-year tax abatement in 2019, but that has run its course. The property was also previously designated an ERA, but the designation expired in 2012.
Initially, Airtomic proposed a pair of 10-year tax abatements, but the EDC reduced the abatements to seven-year real property and five-year personal property. The EDC reduced abatements based on the investment numbers and aligned the abatements with what the commission has done in the past, said Shawn Taylor, the EDC vice president and a city council member.
If the real property tax break is approved, Airtomic would save $231,101 while still paying $174,339 in property taxes over seven years. As for the personal property tax break, the company would save $37,300 and pay $20,620 over five years. The company would pay full taxes on the improvements after the abatement period. The company is now paying full taxes on previously abated investments.
The company did not agree to pay economic development fees at this time, Monson said at the March 11 EDC meeting. Mike Mislan from Airtomic said he was told by a company employee that they haven’t been asked for that from other groups they work with and the employee was concerned about tax audits.
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