Jasper Engines announces $6.9 million investment and manufacturing expansion
Jasper — Jasper Engines and Transmissions announced it is purchasing the former-Kimball Plastics manufacturing facility on Power Drive to facilitate an expansion of its operations in Dubois County.
The expansion will bring an estimated 235 new jobs by 2017.
CEO Doug Bawel joined Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann and local officials in announcing the company’s plans to expand its footprint in Jasper, Indiana. The reinvestment in the manufacturing facility located at 1220 Power Drive is expected to be completed and in operation by this fall.
The homegrown-Hoosier company, which remanufactures drivetrain components, plans to invest $6.9 million to renovate and equip the 220,000 square foot vacant building located about half a mile from its current 367,000 square-foot facility at 815 Wernsing Road in Jasper.
The additional facility will become the new home of Jasper Engines’ Transmission Division which includes disassembly, machining, assembly, testing and warehousing of automotive drivetrain components.
“When looking at our options for expansion, no other place measured up to the business climate in Indiana,” said Bawel. “Jasper Engines and Transmissions is growing at a high rate and this expansion is thanks to our hard-working associates and our company’s dedication to excellence when producing our products. This is phase one of the approval needed for this project as we now await phase two which is the City of Jasper’s approval of local real and personal tax abatement. We are excited to grow production here, and are very hopeful with the State taking the lead we can bring this project to fruition quickly.”
This is the second purchase and reuse of a large facility on Jasper’s south side. Stens purchased and transformed the former Columbus Container building into the company’s headquarters and central warehouse in 2012-13. Jasper Engines expansion will remove another 220,000 of commercial real estate from the local market.
“It’s great to see so many local companies, large and small, growing the way they are. Jasper Engines is such a valuable corporate citizen of this community,” Steve Lukemeyer, the real estate broker with F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors who brokered the sale, said. “This was a perfect opportunity for Kimball to sell a first-class facility to a first-class company.”
Jim Thyen, President and CEO of Kimball International, stated, “This transaction is clearly a win-win scenario for everyone: Kimball, Jasper Engines, and the local community. We are extremely happy that we could reach agreement with a local company who we know to be a long-time, good corporate citizen in the community. Jasper Engine’s expansion sends a strong message about the viability of this industrial area and our community’s openness to economic development.”
The purchase includes the building housing Kimball’s recycling center, however, this facility will be leased to Kimball to continue their operations.
“Jasper Engines & Transmissions is a great Indiana economic success story. The company that has prospered and provided hundreds of jobs for Hoosiers for over 70 years is expanding again,” said Ellspermann. “We continue to see how our business-friendly tax and regulatory policies plus our dedicated workforce make Indiana a place where companies want to expand and locate. Our record-breaking job growth shows that Indiana truly is a state that works.”
Jasper Engines currently employs more than 2,600 associates throughout the United States, including more than 1,445 in Indiana. The company has already begun advertising for positions in manufacturing, maintenance, information technology, distribution, engineering and quality control positions in Jasper.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Jasper Engine Exchange, Inc. up to $1,150,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.
“The proposed expansion of Jasper Engines & Transmissions is a reflection of the vibrancy of the Jasper economy and ongoing investments our city is making to create an even better place to live and work,” said Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz. “Jasper continues to set the pace for regional economic growth and we value the contributions of companies such as Jasper Engines & Transmissions who work in partnership with the city of Jasper and other economic development stakeholders. Today’s announcement represents significant work by city, state and company officials and it sets the stage for long-range positive impact for both the company and the greater region.”
Mayor Seitz also commented that his father was one of the three original employees of the company. “If I recall, it was across the street from the Schnitzelbank Restaurant at the time,” he said. “In preparation of the move to this location, my father rebuilt a transmission for that rotating sign on Wernsing Road.”
The project is contingent upon Jasper Engines receiving real and personal property tax abatement from the City of Jasper. The Jasper Economic Development Commission and the Jasper Common Council are both scheduled to meet Friday morning to consider the tax abatement. The Economic Development Commission meeting starts at 8 a.m. with the common council meeting to follow at 8:30 a.m. in the Jasper Council Chamber.
