Morenci city council unanimously approved a tax abatement Monday night for Alpine Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.

The screw machine company—with a parent firm based in Livonia—started production late last year in one of the former M&S Manufacturing buildings on Salisbury Street.

The standard 12-year agreement cancels out 50 percent of the real and personal property taxes from an investment of approximately $2.9 million. The abatement application states the precision machined products company will eventually serve customers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Mexico.

Company owners expect to employ 12 people within two years.

“We’d like to establish an on-going business in Morenci,” said co-owner Jim Lyon. “It looks like a good place to do business and we’d like to grow here.”