ST JOHNS — A longtime auto parts supplier in St. Johns is expanding.
MAHLE Engine Components USA plans to invest $2.9 million and create 25 new jobs in its facility at 916 W. State St.
After closing down a facility in Pennsylvania, MAHLE will make air conditioning units, fluid exchange systems, nitrogen tire inflation systems and other products at the facility in St. Johns. Production is expected to begin by the end of 2019, according to a news release from the company.
The St. Johns facility currently makes piston rings.
State Rep. Graham Filler, who represents the 93rd District, said MAHLE has been an important and stable employer in the area.
“I’m very bullish on St. Johns,” Filler said. “I’m very excited.”
The announcement from the auto supplier is just the latest in recent investment in the city.
A Florida company is working to secure financing for the construction of a $30 million eel farm on land in the city’s industrial park.
And area leaders announced the arrival of a $555 million dairy processing operation late last summer.
The MAHLE expansion project will receive a $186,000 performance-based grant from the Michigan Business Development Program, according to a news release from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
In 2006, MAHLE bought the former Dana Corp. plant in St. Johns and the engine parts business that ran there.
In 2008, the company announced plans for an $18.2 million, 30,000-square-foot addition as well as an additional 150 jobs at the St. Johns plant.
To help pay for that expansion, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved a state tax credit worth $2.2 million over 12 years. The city of St. Johns also approved three tax abatements worth $26.1 million.
Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.
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