A Canadian gas-grill manufacturer that expects to employ 300 has begun production in Huntington, the company announced Wednesday.
Eighty workers started making Broil King grills last week, but the payroll will grow to 300 within 15 months, officials said.
Onward Manufacturing Co. Ltd., based in Waterloo, Ontario, bought and began refurbishing the building at 1000 E. Market St. in January. It’s now ramping up production with workers whose jobs start at $10 an hour.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and other economic development officials traveled to the plant Wednesday for the announcement.
Onward CEO Ted Witzel said his company made the move to Huntington with trepidation.
“Our obvious first choice was to go to China and look at third-party manufacturing,” he said.
Onward would face cheaper labor costs, little regulation, no exchange risk because of Chinese monetary policies and the opportunity to park its profits offshore, Witzel said. But the company would also be farther from customers and have less control over quality.
“As soon as we leave the factory, who knows what may go on,” Witzel said.
Privately held Onward bought the century-old building in Huntington from bankrupt Vermont Castings Majestic Products Co. Vermont Castings made fireplaces in the 400,000-square-foot building until 2004.
Witzel said he was worried about possible environmental problems with an old site and about finding a supplier of quality steel. But Mark Wickersham, executive director of Huntington County United Economic Development Corp., put Onward in touch with Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics Inc. and helped arrange tax abatements to mitigate environmental problems.
“He was like a dog with a bone,” Witzel said.
Wednesday’s announcement is more good news for a Huntington County job market that has been rebounding in recent months. Unemployment was 11.1 percent in September, down from 11.7 percent in August and a 2009 high of 14.3 percent in June.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. is giving Onward up to $1.6 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $150,000 in training grants. The city of Huntington and Huntington County will consider further benefits.
Witzel said by locating closer to its customers, Onward will save money by carrying less inventory.
Daniels said allowing area manufacturers to avail themselves of such advantages while keeping taxes and other costs low is “the way we can get ahead in America.”
The grills will be more expensive than those from China, officials conceded, but Ted Mealing, of Onward marketing, said different customers would be targeted.
“It’s different products and price points,” Mealing said.
