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The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering jobs and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties. For this story, the paper spoke to business owners, local government officials and area businesses about a new manufacturing firm’s move into Mechanicsburg.
By the numbers:
6 to 8 — Expected new employees in Mechanicsburg
18,000 — Estimated square feet of former IGA
90 days — Estimated time before new business opens
42 — Estimated employees overall at Advanced Technology Products
A manufacturing firm is spending about $500,000 to open a new warehouse in Mechanicsburg, filling a long-vacant facility and bringing rare economic growth to the small village.
The announcement marks one of the first such gains for Mechanicsburg in decades, according to village officials.
Advanced Technology Products, based in Milford Center in Union County, will open the warehouse after renovating the former Preston’s IGA, 282 E. Sandusky St., said James McCoy, president of the company.
The new business will mean six to eight employees initially, but has potential to grow or add production jobs in the future, he added.
The deal is important because it will benefit other area businesses downtown, add new jobs and upgrade a vacant building that has recently been an eyesore in the village, said Greg Kimball, mayor of Mechanicsburg. It would also be a rare example of a manufacturing facility moving into village outskirts.
“I’ve been here 30 years and this is the first one I can think of,” Kimball said.
Overall, Advanced Technology has about 42 full-time employees, and closer to 60 if temporary workers are included, said Steve DeWine, general manager for the company. The current offices in Milford Center are full, and the company needed space nearby, he added. The new space in Mechanicsburg is only about a 15-minute drive.
No incentives are being offered as part of the agreement.
Advanced Technology, founded in Plant City, Ohio, in 1990, manufactures pneumatic hoses and tubing for several industries, including automotive. Its clients include Honda, KTH Parts Industries in St. Paris and Bridgestone Tires. The company also exports products to 26 countries worldwide.
“We’ve grown over 60 percent in the last five to six years,” said Duane Campbell, vice president of sales and marketing for Advanced Technology. “Business is very good and we’re continuing to grow.”
The $500,000 renovation project will include adding a new dock to ship products, and could be completed within the next 90 days. If the company continues to grow, it’s possible production jobs could eventually be added, Campbell said.
Finding a new use for the IGA is one of the biggest benefits for the village, Kimball said. The former grocery store has been closed for more than two years after it faced financial trouble while its owner was convicted on charges of passing bad checks.
Both Goshen Twp. and Mechanicsburg will benefit once the site is back in use, Kimball said.
“We’re excited to have them here,” Kimball said. “It’s a win for us and it’s a win for the township.”
The company’s location just outside village limits can also be good for businesses and restaurants downtown, said Grace Kurtz, co-owner of Hemisphere Roasters, a coffee shop in downtown Mechanicsburg.
“We’re always excited about more people here,” Kurtz said. “That’s always positive for us.”
The deal has been in the works for months, said Tim Cassady, a Goshen Twp. trustee. The site was already zoned for business, but trustees recently approved a conditional use permit allowing the property to be used for manufacturing purposes, as opposed to retail.
“We just felt that the owners were very interested in looking at Mechanicsburg,” Cassady said. “There’s an empty building there and the operations seemed like it would fit without disrupting the surrounding neighborhood.”
Advanced Technology’s owners allowed local trustees and village officials to tour the site in Milford Center to ensure it would be a good fit locally.
Local officials also credited Marcia Bailey, economic development coordinator for Urbana, for working to find a good fit to fill the vacant IGA. Both Cassady and April Davis, Mechanicsburg’s village administrator, said the deal likely would not have happened otherwise.
“(Bailey) has made it a point to work for all the villages and townships and I give her a lot of credit for making this happen,” Davis said.
Champaign County is remaking its economic development model, after Urbana provided the majority of the funding in recent years.
The Community Improvement Corporation of Champaign County will take over control of economic development and will be called the Champaign Economic Partnership. Bailey will soon work to provide economic development countywide through that organization, which will receive funding from Urbana, Champaign County and private businesses.
Advanced Technology’s decision to expand to Mechanicsburg would not have happened if local entities did not work together, Bailey said.
“It was the county, the township and the village,” Bailey said. “All of us collaborated to get them here.”
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