9/14/2015 12:01:00 AM
HEADLINES
The State of Michigan’s incentive program provided $950,000 in training costs utilizing income taxes on new employees to help fund the first new U.S. hot forming facility in 40 years.
But uncertainty in the wind energy industry has forced that facility to close.
Last week Dokka Fasteners CEO Louis Vasilevski announced the company is closing it’s four-year-old Michigan plant. Norway-based Dokka began U.S. production in late 2011 and will close the plant north of Detroit and will cease operations by the end of 2015. Dokka will continue production in Norway.
The Michigan / Dokka deal is among numerous government programs to encourage fastener company investment.
Here is a sampling from GlobalFastenerNews.com stories about expansion and one government deal involved in contraction.
2011 FIN – State Program Aided First New U.S. Hot Forming Facility in 40 Years
May 4, 2011 FIN – A Michigan program to train new employees contributed to Dokka Fasteners decision to build the first new hot forming facility in the U.S. in 40 years, the Daily Tribune reports.
Dokka Fasteners CEO Marc Strandquist told the Tribune that training opportunities at nearby Oakland Community College were the defining factor why his company chose to locate its 100,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Michigan rather than Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.
In 2010 Dokka established its first hot forming fastener manufacturing facility in North America to supply the growing U.S. wind energy market. The site is a state-of-the-art fastener facility featuring a fully automated manufacturing process — something parent company Würth called “the first of its kind in the U.S.”
The $20 million robotic hot forming manufacturing facility replicates the high-tech process found in the facility of Dokka Norway — an industry leader in providing wind energy fastener products for over two decades. (Click HERE for more on Dokka’s robotic facility.)
New employee training opportunities are part of the Michigan New Jobs Training program, an incentive passed by the state Legislature in 2008. The program allows community colleges to collect the income taxes of those new employees to pay for the training.
OCC reportedly works with individual companies to win contracts for training a specific number of new employees.
Strandquist said the ability to “train a workforce from the ground up” on brand-new equipment made a huge difference, according to the Tribune.
“We’ve hired 25 people so far and I’m really proud that 12 people were on unemployment at the time we hired them, so we’ve been able to take people off the unemployment roll,” stated Strandquist.
Auburn Hills-based Dokka — a Würth Group company — will utilize the program to hire and train a total of 76 workers to produce fasteners for the wind energy market. The $950,000 training costs are covered by the state’s incentive program.
“In terms of what we’re going to do here, we do hot forming — heating metal up before forming it — and we’re the first all new hot-forming facility in the U.S. in over 40 years,” Strandquist said.
Other Fastener Company / Government Deals
The Michigan / Dokka deal is among numerous government programs to encourage fastener company investment. Here is a sampling from GlobalFastenerNews.com stories about expansion and one government deal involved in contraction – not including tariff stories that some consider to be subsidies:
2015 FIN – Canada Invests in Titanium Fasteners
The Canadian government announced a repayable contribution of $2 million towards the acquisition of specialized titanium fastener manufacturing equipment by LISI Aerospace Canada Corp.
2014 FIN – Michigan to Subsidize Italian Fastener Company’s Job Growth
August 18, 2014 FIN – Brugola OEB Industriale SpA is among companies from China, Italy, Germany and Canada approved for state incentives to expand facilities and employment in Michigan, AreaDevelopment.com reported.
2014 FIN – Sherex Helps Found Regional Research Center
September 9, 2014 FIN – The state of New York is investing $30 million in a manufacturing research center with industry and academic partners in the former SmartPill plant on Main Street in Buffalo.
2013 FIN – Ohio Steel Negotiates Tax Credits, Energy & Labor to Grow
February 20, 2013 FIN – Ohio Star Forge is likely to expand, aided by tax incentives and a state training grant, instead of the steelmaker moving to Japan. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved $107,483 in “job creation tax credits” and the Ohio Development Services Agency and JobsOhio are providing the 40%, six-year tax credits. The state also is providing a $30,000 workforce training grant.
2011 FIN – Field Fastener Breaks Ground on $3.5 Million Expansion
The state of Illinois provided $1.1 million in tax credits and job training funds and the county will consider a property tax abatement for the expansion.
2010 FIN – General Fasteners’ Displaced Workers Eligible for Federal Program
August 27, 2010 FIN – Former General Fasteners Company employees in Richmond, Indiana, are eligible for services under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program, pal-item.com reported. The TAA program is available to workers displaced from jobs due to imported products or shifts of production out of the country.
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