Two companies adding jobs in DeKalb County

Two companies adding jobs

Posted: Monday, October 27, 2014 11:00 pm | Updated: 6:41 am, Tue Oct 28, 2014.

By Jacob Klopfenstein
jklopfenstein@kpcmedia.com

AUBURN — Two businesses are buying large new pieces of equipment and have asked the DeKalb County Council to phase in property taxes on the purchases.

Steel Dynamics Inc. is installing a $21.75 million push-pull pickling line at its Butler plant, DeKalb County Economic Partnership Executive Director Ken McCrory said. The equipment will be used for pickling steel, a surface treatment that removes impurities.

SDI Operations Manager Jordan Breiner said the new equipment would require 5-10 new employees at salaries of $65,000 to $75,000 per year.

Breiner requested a 10-year tax phase-in for the project. However, Councilman Robert Wilder said the council typically grants five-year phase-ins for new equipment purchases.

Magic Coil will install a multi-blanking line, which cuts flat sheets of metal into various sizes, company attorney Henry Nadjeski said at the council’s meeting Monday. The new equipment would require three crew members to operate it, so its installation would create three new jobs. If Magic Coil operates the machine over multiple shifts, six new jobs would be created, Nadjeski said.

The attorney said Magic Coil is making an investment into expanding its capabilities and business. The company has been granted two previous property tax phase-ins, which helped the business grow, he said. He asked the council for a five-year phase-in.

A public hearing for both proposed phase-ins will take place at the council’s next meeting Dec. 8, after which the council will decide whether to grant them. The phase-ins would reduce property taxes for the respective businesses.