The Brevini Wind building is in ParkOne/332. / Keith Roysdon / The Star Press
MUNCIE — After five years and $5 million, the railroad spur that will link Brevini Wind to a nearby rail line in western Delaware County is ready.
But the hundreds of wind industry jobs promised in 2008 haven’t materialized — and neither has the need for the rail spur.
Delaware County officials, who paid for the mile-long, $5 million rail spur with help from a $2.6 million federal grant, have regularly monitored Brevini Wind’s status and The Star Press has reported on the company's struggles. The spin-off of industrial gearbox maker Brevini — which relocated its U.S. headquarters from Chicago to Delaware County — saw the wind industry wither along with the national economy just as the company was gearing up. In a desperation move that has to some extent paid off, Brevini Wind sought and won contracts for gearboxes other than those for wind turbines.
But contracts for giant gearboxes — too large for truck transportation, making the rail spur necessary — haven’t materialized and, to a great extent, neither have jobs.
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