Vandalia company’s jobs commitment shrinks

A Vandalia manufacturer has revised a commitment to create local jobs first made in 2015.

International manufacturer Johnson Electric/Saia-Burgess LLC said in January 2015 it planned to create 100 new jobs at its 801 Scholz Drive facility in what was then said to be an $8.2 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion.

At the time, an eight-year tax credit had been approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for the company.

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But Greg Shackelford, Vandalia assistant city manager, said that plan has not materialized, and those numbers have since been cut. The project has been re-vetted by state development officials, he said.

“Instead of 100 proposed new jobs in 2015, the total has been reduced to 76 proposed new jobs,” Shackelford said.

“I think management had a change of heart about the initial use of the Vandalia site,” he added. “The good news is that they are committed to staying and to growing in Vandalia.”

Several calls to the local company have been not been returned. An email sent to this news outlet by a company representative said Johnson Electric “has expanded the manufacturing facility by over 11,000 square feet, and will create 76 new jobs over the next 3 years.”

That email did not mention the 2015 jobs commitment.

The products manufactured in Vandalia include automotive, building automation and security, business machines, defense and aerospace, food and beverage, home technologies, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, industrial equipment, medical devices and more, the email said.

Based in Hong Kong, Johnson Electric is a global company.

The company’s expansion of its building is already complete, Shackelford said. He referred questions to a Dayton Development Coalition official.

A spokeswoman for the coalition referred questions to the company and to a monthly metrics report from JobsOhio, the state’s private development arm.

According to JobsOhio monthly metrics measurement in July, a “Johnson Electric North America Holdings Inc.” project creates 76 new jobs, retains 251 jobs and invests nearly $3.5 million in fixed assets. The state extended a $65,000 workforce grant and a $135,000 economic development grant to the company, JobsOhio said.

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