Shelbyville Common Council members approved a tax abatement for Ryobi Die Casting USA's proposed new manufacturing facility in Shelbyville.
The city council unanimously OK'd the abatement on $20 million in personal property improvements.
Personal property includes manufacturing equipment and related items.
At the council meeting Monday morning, Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun said Ryobi was not asking for a tax abatement on real property — real estate — but only on the personal property investment.
The mayor also praised Ryobi's commitment to improving life in the city.
"Ryobi's been an active member of Advantage Shelby County," DeBaun said, referring to the city's partnership with the county and Ivy Tech Community College to educate the area's work force.
An existing building at 501 Northridge Drive in the Northridge Industrial Park west of Shelbyville will house the new factory. The building is adjacent to Ryobi's current production facility at 800 W. Mausoleum Road.
The 10-year abatement schedule includes 39 personal property items for the new operation. The big ticket elements are three production lines totaling nearly $8.2 million and a robotic finish line at nearly $1.7 million.
Attorney Stephen Schrumpf, who represents Ryobi, told the council the new facility will manufacture subframe components for Honda Civics.
"They're moving into parts other than aluminum die casting," he said.
That will be a new, and more profitable, direction for the company, Schrumpf said.
Ryobi's total investment in the project is $97.5 million. The new factory is expected to be up and running by the beginning of 2017 and eventually to create 150 new jobs.
The company plans to hire 40 new workers by the end of this year. The abatement schedule says the jobs will pay a total of $2.1 million annually.
Interested applicants can apply online at www.ryobidiecasting.com.
In other actions, the city council:
• Approved an ordinance to rezone property on East State Road 44 to accommodate the Krone North America headquarters relocation project.
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