An Automotive parts company in Goshen is one step closer to getting a tax abatement to help with a $26 million expansion.
Benteler Automotive is an Austrian company with a plant in Goshen. It makes parts for car manufacturers like Ford, Honda, and Toyota.
The council gave initial approval for a five-year phase-in tax abatement that would help the company with a $26 million expansion.
The money would go towards new press equipment, lasers, and weld cells. They also plan to pay for more employee training.
Mark Brinson is the Director of Community Development for the city. He said the expansion won’t create more jobs, but will benefit the existing workforce.
“We’re hopefully retaining these higher paying jobs. It will result in us increasing the skill level of our workforce and also, it will produce higher paying jobs for Goshen residents.”
Benteler employs nearly 300 people in Goshen. Brinson says their average wage is about $21 per hour, roughly $4 more than the average for production workers in Elkhart County.
Final approval of the tax abatement could come at the Council’s Feb. 4th meeting.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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