Complete coverage
You can count on the Springfield News-Sun to provide in-depth coverage of all the key stories that affect the local economy.
An international auto parts supplier will break ground soon on a new $20 million facility in Logan County that will bring 85 new jobs to the area.
Valeo North America Inc. will build a new facility in Zane Twp. along County Road 153 near Middleburg.
The French auto parts supplier operates in 29 countries across the globe and supplies to auto giants such as BMW and Volvo. It chose Logan County for its expansion project through a business agreement with local developer Jerry Robinson, county officials said.
Construction of the new building is scheduled to begin within the next month, Twp. Trustee Jack Graham said.
“They wanted it to happen pretty quickly and to get started here in July,” Graham said.
The new business deal is a win for the county’s automotive industry that is bouncing back after the recession, Logan County Commissioner Dustin Wickersham said.
“It’s not every day you get a $20 million project, new 75,000-square-foot building and 85 new jobs,” he said.
Valeo is slated to complete construction by this winter and have the facility be operational by the spring of 2016, Wickersham said.
The company agreed to employee 85 full-time positions as part of a 10-year, 60-percent property tax abatement agreement with the county, he said.
Township trustees approved the business deal last week, according to records.
The company and its employee roster will be reviewed annually to insure the positions created in the deal remain full-time, Wickersham said.
Both the Ben Logan and Hi-Point school districts agreed to waive their right to a 14-day notice of the tax abatement before the deal was approved, county officials said.
The school districts will still receive tens of thousands of dollars from taxes on they new factory that they weren’t collecting on the empty fields, even though Valeo received a tax abatement, Wickersham explained.
Honda — a major employer in the area with plants in Marysville, East Liberty and Anna — isn’t one of the automotive makers listed on Valeo’s website that it supplies, but the move next door to the company could mean they are looking to expand, Wickersham said.
There are many manufacturing positions available through Honda and their auto parts providers in the area, said worker Michelle Isaacs of Milton Center, but she said she was interested to hear the details of Valeo’s new jobs.
“If you go full time off the street instead through a temporary position and you get your insurance, your 401k — it would be better than the jobs we have right now,” she said.
About the Author