Firm asks for tax break

A Franklin manufacturer is seeking a 10-year tax break on a plan to invest $6.6 million in new equipment to update one production line and add a new one.

NSK Corp., located at 3400 Bearing Drive, will retain 12 jobs and add one as part of the new investment, according to paperwork filed with the city. The company employs about 250 people.

The company makes and sells automotive bearings and recently entered a contract with a new business for wheel bearings for passenger cars. In order to meet the demand, NSK will invest $6.6 million into updating a production line and adding a new line, the paperwork filed with the city said.

NSK would add new grinding, machining, assembly and inspection equipment.

The company is asking the city for a 10-year tax break on the equipment, meaning property taxes on the updated and new production lines would be phased in over 10 years.

City officials have not yet considered the request. The manufacturer is set to go before the Franklin Economic Development Commission next week.

City planning officials said the investment would make use of an existing facility and strengthen an existing company, which is important to the city’s economy. But the low number of new jobs and hourly wage should be considered when determining how long the tax break should last, the city paperwork said.

The average pay for the jobs retained is $16.50 per hour, without benefits, and for the job created is $27.50 per hour, without benefits, the filing said. The county’s average hourly wage for all jobs is $17.02, and $23.18 for manufacturing jobs, the filing said.

NSK Corp. currently has two other tax breaks with the city for previous projects, the filing said.

The company expects to begin work on the expansion in January and be complete by the end of May.