July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
FCC expanding in Berne (5/14/03)
Local industry to build 90,000-square foot plant
A major Jay County employer is expanding to the north.
FCC (North America) Inc. announced Tuesday it will build a 90,000-square foot facility in a Berne industrial park to produce automotive clutches for Ford Motor Co. — creating more than 200 new jobs over the next 10 years.
The plant, which will operate under the name FCC (Adams) LLC, is projected to employ 85 by 2007 and more than 210 by 2013, according to a release from the Indiana Department of Commerce.
Portland was also in the running for the project.
Officials from FCC (Indiana) had announced a contract with Ford to produce clutches and clutch components in September of 2001, stating that the company planned to add 100 jobs and approximately 50,000-square feet at its Portland location on Industrial Park Drive on the city’s northwest side. Since that time, the company has added employees at its Portland plant under current contracts, but has apparently decided to shift work under the new contracts to the Berne location.
At some point, FCC began looking at sites in Portland, Berne and Ohio to build a new plant.
“Ultimately, the decision was made to locate this facility in Berne due to the uniqueness of the products and processes compared to the Portland facility,” FCC (North America) president Hitoshi Yamabe said in a press release Tuesday. “We appreciate the long-term relationship we have built with the city of Portland and Jay County since 1988 and hope to continue to build upon it.”
The company asked that requests for further comment be submitted by e-mail, but no response from company officials had been received by late this morning to an e-mail sent at 8 a.m.
In the release, FCC (Indiana) said it will be investing $25 million and creating 25 new jobs at its Portland plant over the next three years.
Company officials said Tuesday during a press conference in Berne that construction would begin in June, with production slated to begin in 2005.
Officials from Portland and Jay County Development Corporation have worked since last fall on developing an incentive package for FCC covering two options in the new Portland Industrial Park on county road 100 North east of U.S. 27.
“We gave them one of the best incentive packages that I have ever put together. For whatever reason, they chose to relocate to Berne,” Robert Quadrozzi, executive director of JCDC, said Tuesday afternoon. “We hate to lose this, but we’re confident we put forth our best effort ... They are still one of our largest employers and ... They have intentions of expansion in Portland and Jay County, and we look forward to that.”
Quadrozzi and city officials were offering two options to FCC for a new plant site in Portland: A 50,000-square foot spec building located just east of Moser Engineering or a currently undeveloped site east of the spec building.
Quadrozzi said the package offered to FCC included land, tax abatements, training money from economic development income tax funds, delivery of infrastructure to property lines and assistance with the recruitment process.
The local incentive package offered in Berne included $2.4 million in tax abatements along with money to pay for infrastructure.
State incentives include nearly $1 million in Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits over a 10-year period and $254,000 in training grants. The city of Berne also was awarded $360,000 by the Indiana Department of Commerce from its Industrial Development Grant Fund to help offset the cost of infrastructure improvements.
The Berne plant will be located at 936 E. Parr Road on the city’s northeast side.
Quadrozzi said that although it was disappointing to lose the FCC project to Berne, there will likely be some Jay County residents who will find work at the plant. He said that are currently approximately 1,100 Jay County residents who work in Adams County.
Quadrozzi said that tapping into a fresh labor pool may have been a factor in choosing Berne.
“Any company in a community this size, once they get over 400 people, their turnover automatically starts rising a little bit,” Quadrozzi said Tuesday. “My understanding is that turnover (at the Portland plant) has been a lot less, and the labor pool has been a lot better.”
FCC (Indiana), which operates as a subsidiary of FCC (North America), is one of Jay County’s five largest employers. The Portland plant, which broke ground in 1988, averages approximately 450 employees with an annual payroll of more than $14 million.
The company also has a factory in North Carolina.
FCC manufactures clutches for automobiles, motorcycles and utility vehicles. It has contracts with Honda, Saturn, Ford, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki. The Japan-based company employs 4,000 worldwide.[[In-content Ad]]
FCC (North America) Inc. announced Tuesday it will build a 90,000-square foot facility in a Berne industrial park to produce automotive clutches for Ford Motor Co. — creating more than 200 new jobs over the next 10 years.
The plant, which will operate under the name FCC (Adams) LLC, is projected to employ 85 by 2007 and more than 210 by 2013, according to a release from the Indiana Department of Commerce.
Portland was also in the running for the project.
Officials from FCC (Indiana) had announced a contract with Ford to produce clutches and clutch components in September of 2001, stating that the company planned to add 100 jobs and approximately 50,000-square feet at its Portland location on Industrial Park Drive on the city’s northwest side. Since that time, the company has added employees at its Portland plant under current contracts, but has apparently decided to shift work under the new contracts to the Berne location.
At some point, FCC began looking at sites in Portland, Berne and Ohio to build a new plant.
“Ultimately, the decision was made to locate this facility in Berne due to the uniqueness of the products and processes compared to the Portland facility,” FCC (North America) president Hitoshi Yamabe said in a press release Tuesday. “We appreciate the long-term relationship we have built with the city of Portland and Jay County since 1988 and hope to continue to build upon it.”
The company asked that requests for further comment be submitted by e-mail, but no response from company officials had been received by late this morning to an e-mail sent at 8 a.m.
In the release, FCC (Indiana) said it will be investing $25 million and creating 25 new jobs at its Portland plant over the next three years.
Company officials said Tuesday during a press conference in Berne that construction would begin in June, with production slated to begin in 2005.
Officials from Portland and Jay County Development Corporation have worked since last fall on developing an incentive package for FCC covering two options in the new Portland Industrial Park on county road 100 North east of U.S. 27.
“We gave them one of the best incentive packages that I have ever put together. For whatever reason, they chose to relocate to Berne,” Robert Quadrozzi, executive director of JCDC, said Tuesday afternoon. “We hate to lose this, but we’re confident we put forth our best effort ... They are still one of our largest employers and ... They have intentions of expansion in Portland and Jay County, and we look forward to that.”
Quadrozzi and city officials were offering two options to FCC for a new plant site in Portland: A 50,000-square foot spec building located just east of Moser Engineering or a currently undeveloped site east of the spec building.
Quadrozzi said the package offered to FCC included land, tax abatements, training money from economic development income tax funds, delivery of infrastructure to property lines and assistance with the recruitment process.
The local incentive package offered in Berne included $2.4 million in tax abatements along with money to pay for infrastructure.
State incentives include nearly $1 million in Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits over a 10-year period and $254,000 in training grants. The city of Berne also was awarded $360,000 by the Indiana Department of Commerce from its Industrial Development Grant Fund to help offset the cost of infrastructure improvements.
The Berne plant will be located at 936 E. Parr Road on the city’s northeast side.
Quadrozzi said that although it was disappointing to lose the FCC project to Berne, there will likely be some Jay County residents who will find work at the plant. He said that are currently approximately 1,100 Jay County residents who work in Adams County.
Quadrozzi said that tapping into a fresh labor pool may have been a factor in choosing Berne.
“Any company in a community this size, once they get over 400 people, their turnover automatically starts rising a little bit,” Quadrozzi said Tuesday. “My understanding is that turnover (at the Portland plant) has been a lot less, and the labor pool has been a lot better.”
FCC (Indiana), which operates as a subsidiary of FCC (North America), is one of Jay County’s five largest employers. The Portland plant, which broke ground in 1988, averages approximately 450 employees with an annual payroll of more than $14 million.
The company also has a factory in North Carolina.
FCC manufactures clutches for automobiles, motorcycles and utility vehicles. It has contracts with Honda, Saturn, Ford, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki. The Japan-based company employs 4,000 worldwide.[[In-content Ad]]
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