By The Numbers
- $8.2 million expansion project at the Johnson Electric facility at 801 Scholz Drive.
- $3 million is expected to be generated in additional annual payroll by the creation of the 100 full-time jobs.
- 30,000 square foot expansion to be added.
- 100 full-time jobs expected to be created.
- 8-year tax credit approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for Saia-Burgess LLC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson Electric.
An international company is expected to bring 100 jobs to Vandalia, which beat out Indiana after Ohio approved a job creation tax credit for the company Monday.
On Monday, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 50 percent, 8-year tax credit to Saia-Burgess LLC, which plans to expand its operations at its Johnson Electric facility at 801 Scholz Drive.
“As a part of the (nearly) $8.2 million project, the company plans to add approximately 100 new jobs over the next three years,” said Rich Hopkins, spokesman for the city of Vandalia. “The project will also serve to retain the 350 jobs already at the Vandalia location.”
Johnson Electric is a global leader in motion subsystems, serving a broad range of industries, including automotive, industrial and medical equipment, according to Hopkins.
Hopkins said the tax credit will help Johnson Electric construct a 30,000 square-foot expansion to its 120,000 square-foot Scholz Drive plant.
The new jobs will generate $3 million in additional annual payroll, and the company will retain $10.5 million in payroll by the end of December of 2017 at the Scholz location, according to the project description given to the Ohio Development Services Agency. In addition, the company will claim the credit on income tax revenue generated at the Vandalia location in excess of the company’s baseline income tax revenue there.
The international company needs the state’s support in order to assist the company in relocating its production lines from Tennessee to Vandalia, according to the project description given to the state. The Tax Credit Authority was told that the company would need to reorganize and expand its Vandalia facility, move and acquire machinery and hire and train staff.
JobsOhio will also provide the company assistance that will be made public when the final agreement is executed, according to Hopkins.
“We’re very excited to see this project move forward,” said Vandalia Mayor Arlene Setzer. “Johnson Electric has been an important member of the Vandalia business community for many years, and we’re delighted to see them grow here.”
Johnson Electric is one the city’s top five employers, according to Hopkins.
Saia-Burgess LLC is a leading supplier of stepper motors, switches, actuators and electronic controllers to customers within the automotive, industrial and infrastructure automation industry, according to the state.
Sharon Tecklenburg, Johnson Electric’s vice president of Strategic Marketing, did not respond to questions from this newspaper.
Greg Shackelford, Vandalia’s assistant city manager, said that city officials have worked with representatives of Montgomery County and JobsOhio since late spring to bring the project into fruition.
“It all starts with our Business First protocol,” Shackelford said in a press release. “By working together with Montgomery County and the Dayton Development Coalition, we were able to access the proper incentives and gather the necessary information to build a very compelling case for Vandalia and the Dayton region.”
The city’s main competition was a site in Indiana, according to Shackelford.
“We met face to face several times and had several conference calls,” Shackelford said. “The company was also very helpful in providing the information that we needed to get this deal to the finish line.”
“Essentially, JobsOhio (DDC) saw the potential of the loss of 100 new jobs to the state,” Shackelford said. “The company identified our quick response and teamwork as a big key to winning the deal.”
Debbie Lieberman, Montgomery County Commission president, said via a press statement praised the collaborative efforts that helped Johnson Electric expand here.
“Montgomery County is committed to helping our local businesses grow and retain jobs through strategic partnerships and innovative programs like BusinessFirst!, which links companies to resources, and ED/GE, which provides grants for retention and expansion,” Lieberman said.
“This is a huge win for the City of Vandalia and Montgomery County. The promise of 100 new jobs in an industry where we have such deep roots just shows that our advanced manufacturing presence continues to rebound,” said Marty Hohenberger, vice president of Business Development at the Dayton Development Coalition (DDC), in a statement issued via Hopkins.
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