Saturday, March 22nd, 2014
$1.5 million expansion to create five jobs at J&M Manufacturing
By William Kincaid
FORT RECOVERY - J&M Manufacturing expects to begin a $1.5 million addition next month that will add five full-time jobs.
This will be the second time in two years the manufacturer of heavy farm equipment has expanded and improved its research and development capabilities, according to co-owner Scott Grieshop.
The company at 284 Railroad St. intends to build a 30,000-square-foot structure to house additional laser-cutting technology to support current production and future expansion of its manufacturing.
Work is scheduled to begin April 15 with the addition to be completed by Oct. 31.
Fort Recovery Board of Education and Fort Recovery Village Council members this week approved an enterprise zone agreement granting J&M a 10-year property tax exemption on the new building, which shall not exceed $1.25 million during the life of the project.
As part of the agreement, J&M promises to create the equivalent of five full-time jobs within three years, increasing the company's annual payroll by $300,000.
The agreement now needs the approval of Mercer County Commissioners.
At the board of education meeting this week, school treasurer Lori Koch said the school is key to the agreement, as the district would lose the revenue from property taxes on the new addition.
Koch pointed out that J&M fulfilled its obligations of the last tax-abatement agreement and recently donated $100,000 toward the creation of the new, $900,000 student center connected to the high school, named the Jerome and Maurice Grieshop Athletic Training Facility.
School board members approved the contract Monday and village council members ratified the agreement at a special meeting Wednesday night.
J&M Manufacturing makes grain cars, gravity wagons and other grain-handling equipment. The company started in 1960 with 12 employees in a 1,200-square-foot building and today employs about 200 people on eight acres of land.
Last year, J&M Manufacturing constructed a 52,000-square-foot building for research and development as part of a $2 million expansion project.
Company officials obtained a 10-year property tax exemption on that development with the agreement to create five new jobs.
