10/1/2007
Media Contact:
Margie Smith-Simmons, Mayor’s Office, (317) 327-3690
Mitch Frazier, IEDC, (317) 232-8873
Erik Johnson, Major Tool & Machine, (317) 631-6400 ext. 231 |
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Mayor Peterson and Martindale-Brightwood celebrate community and economic development achievements
INDIANAPOLIS – Joined by Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and local leaders, Mayor Bart Peterson announced today that Major Tool & Machine, an Indianapolis-based business, will expand its operations in a remediated brownfield located in the heart of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood.
“The former Ertel manufacturing site has been a long standing problem for the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood in terms of redevelopment and as a contributor to various environmental problems,” Mayor Peterson said. “City staff has worked for the last year at lighting speed to lay the ground work for the site remediation; however, it took a great amount of teamwork and coordination between federal, state and city government to be able to begin the clean-up.”
“To couple this significant environmental announcement with a major business expansion and investment is a huge victory for the local community, the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.”
Major Tool & Machine, a world-class engineering, fabrication and machining services company based in Indianapolis, is launching a major, $20 million expansion of operations at the former Ertel Manufacturing building site located near 20th Street and Dr. Andrew J. Brown Ave.
“This is a proud day in our company’s 60-year history,” J. Stephen Weyreter, president and CEO of Major Tool & Machine, said. “The growth of our business and our partnership with the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana has allowed our company to greatly boost the capabilities, efficiency and capacity of our services.”
The company plans to build 150,000 sq. ft. of new plant facilities for a world-class automated facility and add approximately 50 new jobs in Indianapolis. The company’s growth is being accelerated in part due to Major Tool’s recent win of a five-year contract to manufacture steel centrifuge casings for USEC’s new American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. Construction on the new facility could begin as early as fall 2007.
“Major Tool is a home-grown Indiana company and a prime example of a high-growth business that is investing in Indiana and creating jobs for hard-working Hoosiers,” said Lt. Governor Becky Skillman.
The former Atlas Engine Works and later, the Ertel Manufacturing Corp., were major employers in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood for more than one hundred years. In 2002, the building was shuttered. Contaminated with a variety of substances like chemical solvents, petroleum products, lead and asbestos, the site became a public health hazard.
After successfully lobbying the state legislature this year, the city of Indianapolis was allowed to take possession of the blighted site. To make improvements to the site, the city will invest about $3.1 million toward demolishing dilapidated buildings and conducting soil remediation.
Working closely with the Indiana Brownfields Program, the city received $568,000 in assessment and remediation grants and $30,000 in federal matching funds from the program. In addition, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s State Cleanup Program contributed approximately $140,000 toward work at the site and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided a $600,000 emergency remediation grant .
With major building demolition and soil remediation underway, the city sought proposals to redevelop the industrial site and Major Tool & Machine’s plan was selected.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Major Tool up to $620,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The state of Indiana will also provide a $37,140 grant to the city of Indianapolis to assist with off-site infrastructure improvements needed for the project.
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About Major Tool & Machine:
Major Tool & Machine was established in 1946 in Indianapolis. The privately held, Indianapolis-based company has grown from a custom job shop specializing in the production of aircraft ground support equipment to become a world-class engineering, fabrication and machining services company serving the aerospace, defense, launch vehicle, power generation and transportation industries. Major Tool & Machine has about 265 employees in its Indianapolis-based headquarters and three machining facilities encompassing approximately 330,000-sq.ft.of operational space (increasing to 480,000 sq. ft. of operational space by 2009).
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