ELWOOD – ELSA Corporation plans to add 114 new jobs at its Elwood manufacturing facility as part of a $111 million expansion to provide additional parts to the Subaru plant in Lafayette.
ELSA officials and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) announced the new jobs and expansion on Monday.
The company, a subsidiary of Japan-based Sakamoto Industries, is investing $111 million in a multi-phase expansion which, once complete, will expand the company’s operations to cover 686,000 square feet across multiple buildings on the company’s Elwood campus.
In October 2015, the company completed construction of a 131,000-square-foot addition, and it will break ground this month on a second 63,000-square-foot addition.
The company is also adding two production lines to produce fuel tanks, exhaust systems, air cleaners and air ducts for SIA, which assembles the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Impreza. ELSA plans to install new equipment over the next three years, allowing the company to double its production capacity to 1,800 automotive parts daily once complete.
The company first located in Elwood in 1987 and has undergone several expansions in the past three decades.
Since launching its expansion, ELSA has already hired more than 80 associates within the last two months, outpacing its initial hiring goals. The company now employs more than 350 associates, who are part of Sakamoto Industries’ global team of more than 800 people. ELSA is currently hiring engineers, support staff and assembly technicians.
The IEDC offered ELSA up to $500,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company's plans to create up to 83 new jobs by 2018. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.