Metal finisher may bring 94 jobs to Battle Creek
A metal finishing company planning to build a factory in Battle Creek may bring 94 jobs to the area.
City commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution for a Sept. 5 public hearing on a 12-year property tax abatement for Bowers Aluminum Company, which hopes to build a 68,850-square-foot facility on a 27-acre site in the Fort Custer Industrial Park.
The plant, which would have an address of 1401 Shiga Drive, would be built on one of three shovel-ready sites near Hill Brady Road and Skyline Drive. Shiga Drive is still under construction.
“I’m excited that our shovel-ready strategy is paying off,” said Joe Sobieralski, president and CEO of Battle Creek Unlimited. “We are excited to see 94 jobs come to the fort and we look forward to watching this company grow.”
Company President Jon Bowerson Thursday said his company would anodize, or coat with a protective layer by electrical process, aluminum products it receives from manufacturers.
According to city records, Bowers Aluminum would pay nearly $960,000 without the tax abatement. It would pay about $523,000 with the tax break.
Sobieralski said the company would employ 50 workers in the first two years of operation and add 44 more workers in its third year.
Bowers would spend $2.4 million to build the plant and invest a total of $7.5 million in phase one, and more in a possible second phase.
Construction could begin in mid-September and end in September 2018.
“We thought it was a very strategic move by Battle Creek Unlimited to prepare several shovel-ready sites, and it’s already paying off with this new company,” said Assistant City Manager Ted Dearing.
Bowers Aluminum is leasing the land for 20 years from Full Circle Partners, which, according to Sobieralski, has already signed a purchase agreement for the 27 acres. Bowers is also a managing partner of Full Circle Partners.
Contact Battle Creek Enquirer reporter Noe Hernandez at 269-966-0684 or nhernandez@battlecreekenquirer.com.
