By Sean Rice
srice@dailystandard.com Owners of the Celina firm Signature Four are packing up the plant on South Main Street and expanding to the former Buckeye Apparel building in Coldwater.
Paul Niekamp, executive vice president of operations for Signature Four, confirmed Friday the company will be making a near $1 million investment in purchasing the new building and some equipment. Eleven new employees are planned to be added to the current roster of 25.
Signature Four specializes in image enhancement, through graphic design, Niekamp said. The company performs custom etching on signs, plaques and other items.
The company currently leases 18,000 square feet of space in the Star Warehouse on South Main Street. Niekamp said they had been looking in several Auglaize and Mercer county communities for a place to build or purchase a building before finding the Coldwater location on Ohio 118, which will give the company 36,000 square feet of space.
“This should give us quite a bit of growth for years to come,” Niekamp said of the new location.
Mercer County Commission-ers approved a low interest loan Thursday from the county’s revolving loan fund for $200,000 to go toward the relocation-expansion, estimated at $962,000.
“We had to make sure they stayed in Mercer County,” Mercer County Community Development Director Larry Stelzer said of the incentive loan.
Signature Four began as a spin-off of Visions, customizing items from the awards designer and manufacturer. Signature Four is owned by Brad Meyer, the son of Tom Meyer, who founded Visions.
Visions of Celina also announced a $1 million expansion project this week, and plans to hire about 23 new employees.
Representatives for both companies said their expansions should be completed within about 90 days. |
