A northern Bartholomew County manufacturer plans to hire at least five additional full-time employees during the second half of this year.
The additional hiring at Georg Utz Inc., in a rural area north of the Edinburgh Premium Outlets, will coincide with the late summer installation of $2.1 million in new manufacturing equipment, corporate finance manager Penny Grubbs said.
The 80,000-square-foot factory in German Township produces custom and standard plastic containers for industrial, logistic and storage industries.
Tuesday, the Bartholomew County Council granted the manufacturer a five-year tax abatement, which allows property taxes to be phased in gradually on the new investment.
This is the third tax abatement awarded to the subsidiary of Georg Utz Holding AG of Switzerland.
In 2013, the company added silos, machines and material handling equipment at their facility, located off County Road 250W. The additions that will be made this year will be similar in nature, Grubbs said.
While the most recent expansion was expected to increase the number of workers to 27, the company now has 39 full-time employees, Grubbs said.
Demand for both specialty products and a wider range of sizes for standard products, particularly for automotive, pharmaceutical and distribution customers, is driving the growth spurt, plant manager Mike Chiado told the council.
In 2003, the company began its local operations in a rented former military building off Andrews Drive on the east side of the Columbus Municipal Airport.
However, they were able to move into their $15 million facility south of Edinburgh within a few years of coming to Bartholomew County.
Two years ago, Georg Utz Inc. donated $5,000 to the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic for its youth music education programs.
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The parent corporation of Georg Utz Inc. in Switzerland is a global supplier of plastic storage and transport containers and pallets with facilities in France, Germany, England, Poland, Russia, and China.
The Columbus location was the first attempt by Utz Holding to build a manufacturing facility in the United States.
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