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A local manufacturer is planning to expand its operations to keep up with changes in energy.
Analytical Engineering, Inc. is investing $5.5 million in new equipment, and Columbus City Council has approved a personal property tax abatement on these purchases.
Brandon Simmons with AEI said that the purpose of the project is two-fold, with the company looking to move into new areas while also maintaining its current capabilities.
“We do a lot of work with transportation, engine development, and that world is changing,” he said. “Electrification’s definitely going to be a part of that future, battery testing, hydrogen, all sorts of fuels. And all that equipment changes rapidly, so we’re always trying to keep up with whatever the business starts to steer us toward. And we have to keep up with equipment, not just in expanding capabilities but keeping up with modern equipment so we can continue the work that we have been doing.”
AEI President Angie May stated in a letter to city officials that the company is planning to expand operations at its 983 South Marr Road facility and will use existing floor space to accommodate the installation of new manufacturing equipment.
She added that the expansion will result in the retention of 47 jobs and the creation of three new jobs by the end of 2025, with the added positions having an average wage of $27 per hour.
Per its application, AEI manufactures engine/energy system prototypes, prototype vehicles, components, engine-related systems and analytical measurement equipment. The company wrote that the $5.5 million investment is necessary to ensure that the business can “provide the best and most-up-to-date technology that is required to manufacture these items.”
“Over the next 3-4 years, AEI will need to upgrade several existing pieces of equipment and controls in order to support the development needs for engines, new power alternatives (batteries, hydrogen, alternative energy sources, and other potential fuels),” the company stated in its project description. “Several pieces of equipment are approaching the end of their useful life and will need to be replaced with upgraded capabilities.”
Needed items include engine dynamometers, power supplies, battery simulators, air handling, control systems, thermal temperature control systems, process water systems, chillers, emissions equipment, computerized data acquisition and control systems, CNC machining and fabrication equipment.
The company plans to invest $2 million in new equipment in 2023, $2 million in 2024, and $1.5 million in 2025, for a total of $5.5 million.
Per city documents, property taxes on AEI’s new equipment will be phased in over a 10-year time period. It’s estimated that the company will pay about $200,000 in new personal property taxes during that time and save $300,000 thanks to the abatement.
According to a memo from assistant director of Community Development Robin Hilber, AEI previously received real and personal property tax abatements from the city in 2012 and another personal property tax abatement in 2016.
“AEI’s been a wonderful success story in Columbus,” she told the council. “It started in 1994 with six employees.”
