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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: January 9, 2003 |
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Tower Automotive Products Company Receives ORDC Grant to Expand Bellevue Facility |
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COLUMBUS --- The Ohio
Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has approved a $50,000 grant to
assist with the $475,000 cost of installing a 3,200-foot rail spur
to serve Tower Automotive Products Company’s expanded Bellevue
facility.
James E. Seney, Executive Director of the ORDC, said the expansion will create 100 jobs paying between $10 and $20 per hour. Seney said the ORDC grant is part of a package that was instrumental in Tower’s decision to expand at Bellevue instead of choosing a site outside Ohio. The package includes up to $219,000 in community development block grants, a 10-year property tax abatement from the City of Bellevue, job creation tax credits and job training funds from the Ohio Department of Development and $245,000 from Norfolk Southern Railway. The Norfolk Southern contribution represents the cost of building a mainline turnout and laying 1,100 feet of tail track. Seney said Tower’s existing facility lacks rail service and that the company expects to generate between 1,000 and 1,400 carloads a year through the rail spur. |
Tower produces body
structures, suspensions and lower vehicle structures for major
domestic and foreign auto manufacturers. Seney said the Bellevue
plant will manufacture the frames for Ford Ranger trucks made in
Minnesota and New Jersey, the Ford Econoline van made in Lorain and
front and rear platforms for Lincolns made in Michigan.
Tower, which is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has plants in Bellevue, Upper Sandusky and Bluffton. The Bellevue expansion represents a $20 million investment for Tower. "We are happy that we were able to help Tower expand and, in the process, strengthen Ohio’s economy," said James E. Betts, Chairman of the ORDC. Contact: Susan Arduini (614) 644-0306
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