EVANSVILLE - Michigan-based automotive supplier Fisher Dynamics plans to open a new facility in Evansville, adding 169 new jobs over the next two years.
Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke made the announcement in his office Wednesday morning, along with the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.
Fisher is a privately-owned company that makes automotive seating components including armrests, headrests, latches and seat recliners. The company plans to manufacture and assemble front-row seat structures at its Evansville plant.
The company plans to invest about $11 million in the Evansville operation, which will be located in an existing warehouse at 2301 St. George Road.
In a news release, Winnecke said Fisher considered several sites before selecting Evansville. Fisher has existing operations in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Poland, China and India. Its U.S. plants are in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, where the company is based; and in Brownsville, Texas.
The Evansville jobs will pay an average wage of $19.61 per hour.
“These are good-paying jobs offering good benefits that will boost our economy and help the Tri-State region thrive,” Winnecke said in the news release.
Economic incentives for Fisher are part of the picture.
The Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville is proposing that Fisher be granted an incentives package that includes an eight-year tax phase-in on personal property. Local incentives would also include a $60,000 training grant that could be used to train Evansville residents hired by the company within the first two years.
The state’s economic development arm, the Indiana Economic Development Corp., has also offered state-level support.
The IEDC has offered Fisher up to $1.25 million in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants. These incentives are performance-based, meaning that the company can claim the incentives only after it has hired Hoosier workers.