A local manufacturer of wire partitions and custom-made guarding products is planning a $2 million expansion.
SpaceGuard Products in Seymour announced Monday it will construct a 25,600-square-foot addition to its facility at 711 S. Commerce Drive.
The project will allow the company to accommodate increased sales volume and install new automated powder coating equipment, said company President Edward Murphy.
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At Monday’s city council meeting, Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., spoke on behalf of SpaceGuard in requesting tax abatement for both the expansion and new equipment.
The investment is broken down into $750,000 for the equipment and $1.25 million for construction, Plump said.
Both abatements are good for a period of 10 years. For the first year, SpaceGuard will not have to pay any taxes on the investment. Each year thereafter, it will be required to pay a percentage, which increases by 10 percent each year until the abatement expires.
Council members unanimously approved the requests.
SpaceGuard currently employs 39 people earning total annual wages of $1.5 million and expects to add eight more workers as a result of the expansion, according to statement of benefits forms the company filed with the city last week.
The project is expected to begin around the middle of November and won’t be completed until the beginning of June 2019.
SpaceGuard Products was formed in 1990 through the consolidation of Logan Wire Co. and Ford Fence Co.
Products produced by the company include storage lockers, rack safety panels, aisle guarding and mezzanine rail guarding.
The wire mesh partitions are used for a variety of applications, including machine and robotic guarding, computer security cages and networking facilities, tool cribs and warehouse or retail security.
The company has made products that are used at Cummins Inc. Seymour Engine Plant, Valeo Lighting Systems, the University of Wisconsin’s Kohl Center and Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh and on television show and movie sets.