By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
WAKARUSA -- The interest in just a handful of jobs made David Hemming chuckle in amazement.
The president and chief executive officer of Precision Tank & Equipment is considering starting a fiberglass tank operation in Wakarusa which could bring about 10 new jobs in 2010 with the possibility of another five coming a year after the start of production.
Even Wakarusa town manager Tom Roeder admitted Precision's plans and request for a five-year tax abatement might have gotten a different reaction a few years ago, but today's economic conditions make even 10 jobs sound good.
"This is the first really positive thing for some time," Roeder said. "It's small but it's something to talk about and be excited about. It's the doggone psychological factor."
Through much of 2008, Elkhart County talked more about job losses than job creation. Estimates by the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County have the local economy gaining 745 new positions last year. During the last six months, new jobs included five at Hinsdale Farms in Bristol and 85 at the Izzy chair manufacturing plant in Middlebury.
Coming a few days after Hemming appeared before the Wakarusa Town Council, Airgas Inc., a Michigan-based distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, broke ground on a new facility in Elkhart.
Although the Airgas operation will not bring new jobs, it is more good news for a battered county.
Precision Tank & Equipment
The Illinois company has looked at seven potential sites in northern Indiana for its first plant outside of its home state, Roeder said, and likes Wakarusa the best.
At the town council meeting, Precision asked for a $1.4 million abatement to refurbish and retool the former Monaco Coach Plant 29 on Ward Street. The company is proposing to buy the 25,000-square-foot building and an additional 7.5 acres adjacent to the plant to accommodate any potential expansion, Roeder said.
Precision manufactures stainless steel and mild steel tanks for the agriculture industry. The company sees fiberglass tanks as the trend, Hemming explained, and wants to add that product to its offerings.
Consequently, it is attracted to Elkhart County because the local work force has experience working with fiberglass, Hemming said.
Precision has applied for an air permit with Indiana Department of Environmental Management and has received favorable news about other economic incentives from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Hemming said.
The company is waiting for the Wakarusa Town Council to decide on the abatement. Although Hemming declined to discuss what his company would do if the request were denied, he did praise local officials.
"All the people we've dealt with in Elkhart County, everyone has been very positive to deal with and supported us fully," he said. "That's been very pleasant to work with."
Airgas
The earthmovers were already digging in the dirt Thursday morning as Airgas officials and representatives from the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony of the new facility.
Airgas will consolidate its retail store on Franklin Street in Elkhart and its distribution plant in South Bend into a new 18,000-square-foot building in the Banks Industrial Park in Elkhart. The roughly 15 jobs in the two existing operations will be transferred to the Elkhart plant when it is completed in August or September.
"This is the center of the density of our customer base," said Tom Podsiadlik, area vice president for Airgas, when asked why the company chose the city for its new plant. "Elkhart presents the most opportunities. This is the best location from where to serve our existing customers."
The Elkhart operation will take liquefied gas from Airgas' New Carlisle plant, vaporize it and put it into highly pressurized cylinders, said Scott Laskey, regional branch operations manager. Those cylinders will be distributed to customers in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan.
Once the new site is operational, Podsiadlik said, the Elkhart Airgas plant could grow and add employees. Potential new customers include the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery at the University of Notre Dame and the Harper Cancer Institute, a joint venture being developed by Notre Dame and Indiana University.
"We're very excited about this," Podsiadlik said. "We think it's good for us and Elkhart as well."