Slate Auto investment expected to be near $360 million
This post was provided by News Now Warsaw
By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Slate Auto executives shared some eye-popping financial figures and other details on Thursday night as Kosciusko County officials began considering a local incentives package intended to lure the electric pickup truck maker to Warsaw.
The Michigan-based company is pledging $363 million in investment in the old RR Donnelley printing plant and the county council took preliminary steps on the way to likely approving ten ten-year abatements for both personal property and real estate.
Slate Attorney Steve Snyder presented the plan to council Thursday night.
“That’s an impressive number when you look at the total — especially in light of the fact we have a vacant facility that could stay vacant for how long? Nobody knows,” Snyder said. “But because of the incentives that have been offered to Slate, they believe they can make that facility meet their needs.”
Slate looked at other locations, but some speculate that the proximity of railroad tracks right next to Donnelly’s was a factor.
That issue was not discussed.
“There were other choices — let’s put it that way,” Snyder said. “These incentives are what brought Slate to the door. ”
About half a dozen Slate representatives attended Thursday’s meeting.
The reason for such a large infusion is due to the facility’s condition. Plant Manager Rich Schmidt said much of the 2.5 million square feet in interior space across numerous structures on the property will have to be gutted.
The company also said its annual salaries could be around $93 million and plans to hire more than 1,600 in hopes of beginning operations in 2026.
Schmidt said hourly workers could see annual salaries around $70,00 while salaried employees will be around $120,000 and engineers could see salaries upward of at least $150,00.
Snyder also said the arrival of Slate would provide a new level of industrial diversification that local leaders have always wanted.
He also touched on the politics and popularity of electric vehicles.
“They might not be smiled on by the current administration as much as they have been in the past, but they are a thing that is coming, and every manufacturer is in the business of electric vehicles,” Snyder said.
Negotiations with Slate have been underway for about six months, he said.
Melanie Reilly, representing the company’s tax department, said they hope to know soon how much the county could expect to see in tax revenues as a result of the company’s presence in the county.
Two preliminary steps were taken by the council on Thursday and it appears the request is on itw way toward easy approval.
Council President Tony Ciriello said the agreed-upon figures for Slate are in line with other agreements with Louis Dreyfus Company in Claypool and various orthopedic companies in Warsaw.
“The original proposal was a lot worse than this, and this was negotiated to a liveable abatement,” Ciriello said.
In a conversation with News Now Warsaw after Thursday’s meeting, Ciriello tipped his hat to the late council member Mike Long, who died recently but had been involved in negotiations with Slate months ago prior to his passing.
Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Peggy Friday, who led the effort to bring Slate to Warsaw, afterward marveled that the old RR Donnelley and Sons property — most recently used by LSC Communications — only remained on the market for less than a year.
“It’s a staggering project when you look at the amount of investment they are gonna be making in bringing that facility up to speed — again has sat vacant or less than 10 months — that doesn’t happen in this economy today,” Friday said. “We’re incredibly fortunate that they’re going to take the bones of that building and make it something special again.”
Renovations are expected to begin within a few weeks and the first phase of hiring will begin in October, Schmidt said
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