Auto supplier adding plant, jobs in North Vernon

A Michigan-based automotive manufacturing supplier will build a plant in North Vernon that will create up to 150 jobs.

Midway Products Group supplies parts directly to automotive companies such as Ford, General Motors and Toyota.

Construction of a 200,000-square-foot facility will begin immediately on 72 acres of land in North Vernon’s north side industrial park near State Road 3. The new facility will house multiple metal stamping presses and weld and assembly equipment to manufacture stamped components and assemblies, the Jennings County Economic Development Commission announced.

Midway Products Group plans to start operations by the third quarter of 2017 and ramp up employment to about 150 workers by 2018 as customer demand increases, a statement from the development commission said.

“Some of these jobs will require highly skilled people. I think that will attract some new people into our community as well as encourage our people to upgrade their own skills at places we already have right here, like Ivy Tech,” North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs said.

The mayor said he believes Midway Products Group’s plan to build a new facility in North Vernon is a sign of more good news to come in the future.

“This company could have gone to other places, but they chose us because this community had the things they were looking for — like easy access to major transportation routes, a great airport, a very fine hospital and a community of fine people who wanted their company,” Ochs said.

The Indiana Economic Development Commission and the Jennings County Economic Development Commission worked together to finalize the deal, Ochs said. The Indiana Economic Corporation offered Midway up to $800,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants based on future job creation for Hoosiers.

“Those incentives were offered to encourage more companies to establish operations in our state. All of this will help our town and our county. We are a small town with a small-town way of doing things without the problems that often go with a big-town way of doing things. I think more companies will see the advantage of that in the future,” Ochs said.

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Who: Midway Products Group

Where: Headquarters in Monroe, Michigan; additional locations in Indiana (Hudson, Shipshewana) and Ohio (Findlay, Greenwich, Columbus Grove, Ottoville)

What: Tier 1 automotive supplier that manufactures stamped components and assemblies. Tier 1 companies supply parts directly to an original equipment manufacturer.

Customers: Ford, General Motors, Toyota.

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