A company that makes racing components is moving from Bartholomew County to Franklin.
Rapid Prototype, which makes parts to specifications ordered by companies such as IndyCar Penske, along with Axis Industries, a startup that sells custom engines, are moving to the Franklin Business Park.
City officials approved a seven-year tax break on the new building, and a five-year break on equipment. The company also has asked for $100,000 in grant funding from the city’s redevelopment commission to help pay to move into a current building on Commerce Parkway, and build a new building on the site, according to a news release from the city.
The companies will be bringing 12 current jobs, and creating eight new jobs with an average pay of $26 per hour, not including benefits.
Their goal is to move into the building at 1400 Commerce Parkway and also construct a new 15,000-square-foot building on the property. In total, the company would invest about $1.6 million in the property and equipment, the news release said.
The companies have outgrown their current 10,000-square-foot building in Edinburgh and need more space to grow, general manager William Harvey said.
Rapid Prototype, which builds prototypes and parts, also recently was joined by Axis Industries, which has just started doing custom builds of engines for companies all over the country, he said. They need at least 15,000 square feet, and they want to get Axis into its own building, especially since they have equipment they can’t use because they don’t have the space, he said.
The lease on their current building is up this fall, and their hope is to move to Franklin, he said.
“Franklin has a large number of manufacturing companies, and that number is growing thanks to the city’s development efforts. Moving to Franklin exposes us to potential new customers and vendors,” Harvey said in the city’s news release.
Barnett praised the above-average wages the company is planning to pay and credited the city’s recent investment into infrastructure and other redevelopment projects with helping spur interest in Franklin.
