Global Auto Supplier Expanding In Southern Indiana

Metaldyne Performance Group will add over 120 jobs, invest $30.6M in North Vernon, IN, with the help of up to $900,000 in tax credits and training grants.

Metaldyne Performance Group (MPG) will expand its operations in North Vernon, IN, creating up to 126 new jobs by 2019. The company manufactures highly-engineered components for use in powertrain and suspension applications for the global light, commercial and industrial vehicle markets.

North Vernon Indiana
(Photo: Metaldyne Performance Group)

“Our North Vernon manufacturing operations has been a strong performing plant for MPG and its customers for many years,” said Doug Grimm, president and chief operating officer at MPG. “We are excited about this new expansion, and we appreciate the support from the state of Indiana.”

The Michigan-based company will invest $30.6 million to lease and equip a 32,400-square-foot facility. Construction is scheduled to begin later this month and operations are slated to begin in 2018. The new building will be adjacent to MPG’s current 130,000-square-foot facility. Together, the two buildings will provide expanded space for the company to increase production of its powder forged connecting rods, which automobile manufacturers use to improve fuel efficiency in gasoline and diesel engines. MPG operates more than 60 facilities around the world, including additional Indiana facilities in Bluffton, Fremont, Columbus, New Castle and Remington.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered MPG up to $800,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The company will not be eligible to claim the incentives until employees are hired. The city of North Vernon approved additional incentives at the request of the Jennings County Economic Development Commission.

Five major original equipment manufacturer auto companies and more than 500 automotive suppliers like MPG are operating today across the state, supporting roughly 100,000 jobs. Manufacturing accounts for 25 percent of the state’s total economic output, and Indiana’s automotive industry is the second-largest in the nation as measured by GDP.

“There’s a clear reason why Indiana is home to the strongest concentration of manufacturing jobs in the nation,” said Governor Mike Pence. “Over the last decade, Indiana has worked tirelessly to build the best possible business climate, and those efforts have attracted new growth and job creation from manufacturers like MPG. MPG operates six facilities across our state, and its planned growth in North Vernon is a testament to Indiana’s outstanding workforce and business-friendly policies.”

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