By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON, Ind. — One of the city’s many empty manufacturing plants is getting a second wind.
Plant 9, located at the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 29th Street, once housed Guide Lamp Corp., providing hundreds of local jobs.
When the plant closed, the jobs dried up and pieces of the facility was leased to various businesses.
Now, a brand-new company is hoping to make its home in Anderson, starting with a 60,000-square-foot section of the massive property.
Titan Integrated Building Group has leased the east side of the building and expects to begin manufacturing building components in mid-March.
The business manufactures building trusses, floor systems and wall panels, emphasizing the use of wood products.
“This is a start-up operation,” general manager Casey Carey explained during a tour of the facility with city officials Monday.
Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon met with Carey and other Titan officials, offering the city’s help in ensuring that the business is a success.
Titan co-owner Adam Olson said the business may be a start-up, but the management team has a combined 100 years of experience.
The company expects to serve residential, commercial and industrial customers, offering custom work guided by laser technology and a robotic saw.
As the company gets its start, Carey expects it will employ about 16 people, with an additional 15 hired if the company grows sufficiently in its first year.
Eventually, the company hopes to employ about 62 people, Carey said.
Ockomon was encouraged to learn that Titan plans to purchase about $1.5 million in new equipment for the location.
“It’s a significant amount of equipment to be invested in this building, let alone this community,” he said.
On Thursday, the Anderson City Council will vote on a proposed three-year equipment tax abatement for the company.
Although the home and commercial construction industry has been hit hard by the ebbs and flows of the economy, Olson is confident that the company can be a success.
“We feel that the timing is right as the economy bottoms out.”
The economic disadvantage to current housing market businesses equates to an advantage for Titan because the cost of starting a business has dropped right along with real estate prices.
“About 60 percent of our competition has dropped out,” Olson explained.
Companies fat with employees and overhead, he said, have been hit hard by the recession, and when the economy rebounds, the lean start-up company will be positioned to take full advantage, he said.
As competitors drop out of the market, Titan is given a better shot at success, he said.
“That opens the door for us,” he said.
Olson said Titan chose Anderson for its location in central Indiana.
It’s not yet clear when the company will begin hiring local workers, but Carey said they hope to begin manufacturing components in mid-March.
As the company gets set up in the shadow of Anderson’s General Motors legacy, Titan officials are excited to get the company off the ground.
“We don’t know what to expect, but we’re optimistic,” Carey said.
Contact Brandi Watters, 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
