Organization

ADCO Products in Jackson County awarded tax credit which may lead to 212 new jobs

By Chris Gautz
Jackson Citizen Patriot
March 16, 2010

A Michigan Center company that made its mark in the automotive industry is venturing further into the solar panel market — and with the help of a lucrative state tax credit, may add 212 jobs in the next five years.

ADCO Products, 4401 Page Ave., makes adhesives and sealants used in the automotive and construction industries and plans to make a $17.3 million investment in the photovoltaic panel adhesive market its solar panel business by consolidating existing facilities in either Michigan or Indiana.

This morning, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a five-year, $1.2 million tax credit to encourage the company to bring the work here. According to the MEGA, the company is also considering an investment in Evansville, Ind.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Scott Fleming, president and CEO of The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency.

This project would be larger than all of the investment in base jobs the EG calculated in the county in 2009, Fleming said.

“We did not have a banner year (in 2009),” Fleming said.

Fleming credited Amy Torres, director of economic development for the EG, and Ed Reed, business development manager for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, with helping to put the deal together.

Fleming said there are several other Jackson County companies looking at expansion projects as well.

“We’re seeing some positive things happen,” Fleming said.

Leoni Township Supervisor Todd Brittain said this could mean more jobs for the area and that is welcome news.

“We’ve had some bad news previously, but things are starting to look a lot better,” Brittain said.

At last week’s Leoni Township board meeting, the township approved a 12-year tax abatement on the company’s real and personal property, estimated at $557,000 in tax savings over a 15-year span.

According to the MEGA, the average weekly wage for the new jobs is expected to be $577, along with health care benefits.

The company has 158 employees now in Michigan and also has locations in Indiana and Ohio. ADCO’s facility in Leoni Township centered on making products for the automotive, maritime and architectural industries, the document said.

ADCO got into the solar panel market three years ago and produces more than 50 products with solar applications.

In 2005, ADCO received a tax break on a $1 million investment in new equipment. The Leoni Township Board at the time granted the company a 50 percent industrial facilities tax exemption over eight years based on a formula that considered the size of the investment and that the company would retain its then-207 jobs.

For more information, visit www.adcocorp.com.