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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTwo subsidiaries of White Plains, N.Y.-based Drew Industries Inc. announced Wednesday morning that they plan to bring 260 jobs to Elkhart and Goshen by 2015 as part of a $3.7 million expansion.
Lippert Components Manufacturing Inc. and Kinro Manufacturing Inc. said the investment will go toward starting a thermo-forming operation and expanding a glass-tempering and awning operation in the northern Indiana cities.
Lippert and Kinro together employ about 5,000 people nationally, including more than 4,000 in northern Indiana. The companies will begin hiring for manufacturing and administrative positions in the fall.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said it will provide Lippert up to $1.2 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $115,000 in training grants based on the company’s job-creation plans. The cities of Elkhart and Goshen will consider additional property-tax abatements.
“The state of Indiana, Elkhart County and the cities of Goshen and Elkhart continue to show a strong commitment to partnering with companies like ours in the RV industry so that our industry can continue to rebound from the economic downturn and also thrive in the future,” Jason Lippert, chairman and CEO of Lippert and Kinro, said in a prepared statement.
The recreation-vehicle industry produced 252,400 units in 2011, a 41-percent increase from the year before, according to the Reston, Va.-based Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. More than 83 percent of American-made RVs produced last year were built in Indiana.
Lippert and Kinro supply various components for RVs and manufactured homes, including chassis, axles, upholstered furniture, mattresses, windows, doors and thermo-formed products.
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