Good news for Fayette

Kelsey-Hayes should be stable and growing in Fayette for at least the next seven years. Here’s a clipping from a press release that came, of course, shortly after we went to press:

On January 30, 2011, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 35 percent, seven-year tax credit to Kesley-Hayes Company (Kesley-Hayes) for the creation of $717,000 in additional payroll as a result of the company’s expansion in the Village of Fayette, Fulton County. As part of the tax credit agreement, the Authority requires the company to maintain operations at the project site in the Village of Fayette for at least seven years.

The Job Creation Tax Credit is a major factor in Kelsey-Hayes’ decision to expand in Ohio. [The TRW Fayette facility is the largest remaining plant in Ohio. By expanding at this facility, the company will help stabilize the employment of 149 existing full time jobs for the foreseeable future. This location was in competition with other TRW plants for this project.

The project in the Village of Fayette includes the dismantle and rearrange/move of seven existing production cells within the plant to make space for the new high volume production line for the new business. The company owns its existing 162,000 square foot building; however, will need to increase its rented space at the Fayette Industrial Park from 22,200 to 44,400 square feet. One employee will work in this area for most of the day, keeping the plant supplied with raw material and dunnage. Kelsey-Hayes will make a fixed-asset investment of at least $4.003 million total fixed asset investment including $3.142 million in new machinery and equipment, $21,000 for remediation and site preparation, and $40,000 for other investment. The company proposes to hire CNC machine operators and administrative staff for the proposed project.

The company will create 24 full-time equivalent employees generating $717,000 in additional annual payroll at the project location within three years of the project’s initial operations and retain $7.7 million in existing payroll at the project site for the term of the tax credit. In addition, the company will claim the tax credit on income tax revenue generated at the project site in excess the company’s baseline income tax revenue at the project site, a figure that will increase annually by 1.026%. The average wage of the new full-time equivalents will be $14.36 per hour, plus $8.02 per hour in benefits. Kelsey-Hayes has committed to hiring at least ten percent disadvantaged and/or minority persons, as defined by the Ohio Administrative Code.