Continental Structural Plastics announced Monday it will be investing about $33.5 million into its Huntington facility.
The investment represents the “largest investment of private capital in Huntington County in more than nine years,” Huntington County Economic Development Executive Director Mark Wickersham said.
The plan will add a 130,000-square foot facility adjacent to its current 210,000-square foot facility at 1890 Riverfork Drive, according to a release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC). Construction is expected to begin in June, with the new line housed in the facility to be up and running by late 2017.
The expansion is for “new production lines of structural and Class A components” for the automotive industry, according to the release.
The expansion is expected to grow CSP’s employee numbers as well. According to a statement of benefits form presented to the Huntington City Common Council in February, the project is expected to create more than 150 jobs.
Wickersham said 80 of those jobs cited in the IEDC release are eligible for state incentives.
“The Huntington area continues to be a very business-friendly place, making the decision to further invest here an easy one for us,” CSP Huntington Operations Manager Jerry Reid said in the release. “We have access to a talented and hard-working employment base and continue to receive significant support from the local, county and state economic development offices that enables us to grow our business and contribute to the Huntington-area economy.”
In February the Huntington City Common Council approved a 10-year tax abatement for the expansion. In addition, CSP was offered up to $600,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants “based on the company’s job creating plans” from the IEDC, according to the release.
“These incentives are performance based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives,” the IEDC release stated.
“CSP is a company that landed here in 2010 to begin with, so they have not been here long, but they have already become one of most significant employers,” Wickersham said. “The teamwork needed to help the company establish here has continued to pay off for the community and the company.”