From Associated Press, Detroit Free Press
MUNCIE, IN — Auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. will build a $73-million factory to produce powertrain components for General Motors Corp., creating more than 300 jobs, the company said Friday.
A subsidiary of the Aurora, Ontario, company, Magna Drivetrain of America Inc., will employ 310 people when it reaches full production in the next three years, officials said. Magna expects to eventually hire a total of 420 people.
“No factory is complete without a skilled work force, and we know that exists in east-central Indiana,” plant manager Dan Mills said. “We were looking for a place where we could locate where people would have a good quality of life to live.”
Magna will receive more that $11 million in government incentives. The Indiana Department of Commerce will provide $4.6 million, including $4.1 million in income tax credits and $377,500 in infrastructure improvements, Gov. Joe Kernan’s office said.
Delaware County and the City of Muncie will provide the Canadian company an additional $6.7 million in local incentives including tax abatement, tax increment financing and money for buying land and environmental testing.
“We have a deal, and we’re going to commit to that deal, and we’re going to continue to make sure that Magna not only flourishes initially while they’re here, but also in the future in Muncie and Delaware County,” Mayor Dan Canan said.
The factory will produce transfer cases for GM’s next-generation full-sized pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Magna International has approximately 81,000 employees in 217 manufacturing operations and 49 product development and engineering centers in 22 countries. Magna Drivetrain has facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Austria and Germany.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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