A local employer hopes second time’s the charm for its workforce expansion plans.
Group Delphi is investing up to $11.8 million to build and equip a Midwest division headquarters southwest of Fort Wayne.
The designer and builder of exhibits for trade shows and museums expects to create 68 jobs by the end of 2017.
Group Delphi, which employs 35 locally, will build on undeveloped land at Zubrick and Silverado roads near the General Motors Co. truck assembly plant. Groundbreaking is expected in January.
Company officials plan to consolidate operations, now spread across five Fort Wayne locations, into a 200,000-square-foot building designed to accommodate a 100,000-square-foot addition. The first phase – including equipment – is estimated to cost more than $7.32 million.
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Group Delphi’s last major local investment was in 2009, when officials announced plans for a $4.3 million, 20,000-square-foot building addition at 8333 Clinton Park Drive.
The construction project was completed on schedule, but the company failed to fulfill its projection of 60 new jobs by 2012. It employed 41 locally at that time.
Fortney said the recession hit the company’s customers, temporarily reducing demand for Group Delphi’s services. But the company still needed additional space to store exhibits for some customers.
Because it didn’t create the anticipated jobs, Group Delphi didn’t collect tax abatements approved in 2009, Fortney said.
The company has applied to Allen County officials for tax savings on its latest project. If approved, the abatements would save the company an estimated $1,025,000 on land and $42,500 on equipment over 10 years.
The new investment is expected to create some of the jobs first proposed four years ago, Fortney said.
