Huntington Aluminum is staying in Huntington, announcing Tuesday it will expand its operations locally and create up to 41 jobs by 2017, according to a press release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Huntington Aluminum plans to update and double its facility at 1605 Riverfork Drive by November, according to the release. It also plans to begin hiring workers by October.
The investment is a total of $3.2 million, with approximately $2.76 million eligible for state incentives, Huntington County Economic Development Executive Director Mark Wickersham said.
In July the company had been offered $250,000 locally for the project, half from the Huntington County Commissioners’ Project 4 CEDIT fund and half from the City of Huntington’s CEDIT Advisory Committee. These funds are in lieu of a tax abatement, Wickersham has said.
In addition, Huntington Aluminum was offered up to $225,000 in conditional tax credits and $75,000 in training grants from the IEDC, according to the release.
All incentives are performance based, meaning the company will not receive them until they meet certain metrics, including hiring workers.
Wickersham has said Huntington was “competing with another state” for the company.
"We are pleased that the state of Indiana, the city of Huntington and Huntington County are all helping us grow as a company right here in Huntington,” Roger Kilty, owner of Huntington Aluminum, said in the release. “We were at a crossroads: either stay as we are and turn away business or expand. We’ve chosen to expand in Indiana.”
Huntington Aluminum was founded in 2011. It collects aluminum and scrap metal, melts it down and returns it to the customers to be used in other applications. The company currently has $4.8 million in annual sales, according to the release, and expects to grow that to $7.5 million.
Those interested in the positions can apply at Huntington Aluminum’s office, according to the release.
Two other Huntington County facilities also received local and state incentives earlier this year for expansions. In April PHD Inc. announced it would create up to 22 new jobs by 2017 and investing $4.18 million and Novae Corp. announced it was expanding its Markle facility, a $5.9 million investment that is expected to add up to 75 new jobs by 2016.
“It has been a very, very encouraging year on the economic development front because in addition to all the industrial projects…the community is aware of all the small businesses and the activities that have been going on in the restaurant, retail and service sector as well, and in both cases the community is experiencing some very positive growth,” Wickersham said.