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Casket maker plans $16.5M investment, 300 jobs

Scott Olson
February 23, 2011
Keywords
Develop Indy, EDGE Credits, Economic Development, Economic Development Agencies, Economic Development Incentives, Factories, Government & Economic Development, Indiana Economic Development Corp., Job Creation, Manufacturers, Manufacturing & Technology, Tax Abatements, Tax Credits
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Indianapolis-based Genesis Casket Co. plans to invest $16.5 million to open a manufacturing and distribution operation on the city’s far-east side, creating 300 jobs over the next three years.

Mayor Greg Ballard joined company officials to announce the plans Wednesday morning.

Founded just last year, Genesis Casket expects to hire the first 150 employees at an average wage of $26 per hour by the time the facility opens in the summer. Management, sales and marketing, engineering, and production and distribution positions will be among those filled.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has offered the company up to $4.5 million in performance-based tax credits. In addition, Develop Indy will support the company’s request for a personal property-tax abatement before the Metropolitan Development Commission based on job-creation and capital-investment plans.

EmployIndy, formerly the Indianapolis Private Industry Council, has offered recruiting assistance and a $300,000 job-training grant.

Genesis Casket, which expects to produce 30,000 metal caskets in its first full year of production, is partnering with Troy, Mich.-based Gestamp North America Inc. to open the facility.

William Anthony Colson has been named CEO of Genesis Casket and will relocate to Indianapolis. He most recently served as president and CEO of Wilbert Funeral Services in Chicago, a manufacturer and distributor of burial vaults and cremation products.

“Indianapolis is central in proximity to many major markets, which makes it a preferred location from an operations and logistics perspective,” Colson said. “My team and I considered several possibilities.”

Genesis Casket will occupy the 241,000-square-foot building at 3011 N. Franklin Road sold recently by SMC Corp. and listed for $3.9 million. The sale price wasn’t disclosed.

SMC Corp. is a Japanese manufacturer of pneumatic valves and actuators whose U.S. headquarters are now in Noblesville.

In 2008, the state gave SMC $4 million in tax credits plus $387,000 in training grants to move 500 jobs to the Hamilton County city. The company expected to create another 250 jobs by moving to Noblesville.

In addition to the state incentives, SMC received $14.6 million in incentives and infrastructure improvements, such as road widening, from the city of Noblesville.


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  1. The lack of street-level retail in this part of the Block 400 development is a huge oversight and somewhat perplexing given the high quality of recent city-backed developments downtown. This portion of an otherwise stellar development is going to have an extremely negative impact on the aesthetics, urban environment, walkability, and livability of the NW quad.

    I'm not sure why One America would oppose including retail. And I find it very hard to believe that the thousands of office workers literally footsteps away wouldn't be able to support new lunchtime destinations and other businesses along Illinois and Vermont. We've got to reconnect the disjointed segments of our blossoming downtown, not create yet another lifeless dead zone that no one wants to walk through. Sadly, that is exactly what this massive ugly single-use structure will accomplish.

    Why not follow the precedent set by the proposed garage in Broad Ripple and create an attractive mixed-use structure? Why does the city get it there but not downtown?

  2. Bear mind that DS is just not another lazy, rich kid. He attended Columbia grad school and was in investment banking for 4 or 5 years before joining his dad's company. An annual grant of stock options at market price would be the correct pay-for-performance program then no one could argue with it.

  3. This comes from an executive who gave his wife a Bentley as a wedding present. He is heir to billions of dollars. He should be working for a dollar a year and stock options only. Seems like a conflict of interest, time to bring in a non-relative as CEO. Haven't met him, but have heard his arrogance is legendary.

  4. If the property is improved, property taxes increase - more revenue. If AUL's employment grows, more income taxes - more revenue. If more people move and/or work downtown, it means more demand for goods and services, more employment, more taxes - more revenue, etc., etc. It's not just the city throwing money at big companies. There's much, much more. Yes, the project has private backing, but apparently not enough to make the deal work and therefore they don't have it covered. And while Marsh is a nice anchor, they are no credit tenant like a Kroger or somebody. And if the police department has a major shortfall, they need to reduce the force. This city has way too many policemen.

  5. It's hard to defend billionaires, but David Simon has created a tremendous amount of value for shareholders since joining the company. He is widely regarded as one of the best CEOs in America. The company is growing and making good strategic decisions. And Indy is fortunate to have SPG HQ'd here. Now, does that merit $120 million (about 15 mil over 8 years or so)? Maybe. But this family and David have truly built a business. Should Zuckerberg be worth $20 bil? Who knows. Hopefully David will be supportive of Hoosier charities like his family has.

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