Auto parts maker Valeo Engine Cooling plans to invest nearly $28 million in new machinery in Greensburg and expects to create 257 new jobs by the end of 2015.
The company will add four new product lines for Honda, Nissan, Chrysler and Ford, according to city officials.
Total annual compensation for the 257 jobs will be about $14.5 million, or about $56,400 per job — though that includes benefit costs, the officials said.
Greensburg Mayor Gary Herbert said the investment and jobs came about in part because of good communication between the company and city officials, who are focusing on bringing jobs to the community that pay a good wage.
Marc Coplon, executive director of the Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corp., said Valeo executives chose to expand in Greensburg in part because they are pleased with the performance of local employees.
Valeo officials could not be reached Friday or Monday.
Valeo’s Greensburg campus covers 400,000 square feet and employs nearly 700. It manufactures engine cooling loop exchangers and modules; charge air, exhaust gas, and oil coolers; and front end modules. The plant’s Paris-based parent company has nearly 75,000 employees in 29 countries and generates annual sales of about $16 billion.
Valeo employed just over 400 in January 2013, when it announced a $15.5 million investment that was expected to create 209 jobs. Including the latest investment, the company is projected to employ about 950 by the end of next year.
Coplon said that growth at Valeo will boost local employment even more, because manufacturing jobs typically help create retail and service sectors jobs, too.
“One thing leads to another,” Herbert agreed.
City Council on Monday evening was expected to consider a six-year tax abatement on the latest investment. The abatement lowers the amount of property taxes Valeo has to pay, but the tax break gets smaller each year until the company has to pay 100 percent of the taxes on the investment starting in year seven.
Herbert said that he supported the abatement, even though tax breaks on equipment typically last only three to five years. Given the size of the investment and the number of jobs the company plans to create, the six-year tax abatement is a good trade-off, Herbert said.
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