A hefty public financial assistance package for development of the new InSinkerator world headquarters in Mount Pleasant was approved Tuesday, as company executives made the rounds at two local government boards.
In Mount Pleasant, the village board and Community Development Authority approved $600,000 dollars in “upfront assistance” for the garbage disposal manufacturer to “assist with securing the company here,” said Laura Million, a business development manager at the Racine County Economic Development Corporation.
The village is also pledging $500,000 towards rec fees for the facility, which is estimated to cost InSinkerator $369,000. But that amount could rise, Million said.
Just a few hours later, the Racine County Board of Supervisors approved a $4.65 million loan to the company for development of the headquarters.
InSinkerator was looking at sites in Oak Creek, Kenosha and St. Louis, Million said, but the Racine County and Mount Pleasant, “Put together a very competitive incentive package.”
The company approached Mount Pleasant in July of 2016 with a planned $18 million investment, Million said. Now, the project will see $24 million invested in an 85,000 square-foot facility for 170 employees making an average salary of $85,000 a year.
The company is looking at local contractors in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha for construction.
The new facility will house the headquarters and lab, and is expected to help the company attract talent from the Milwaukee area, said Chad Severson, president of InSinkerator.
The development will also free up about 7,500 square feet of space used for engineering offices, cafeteria and lab space in the factory at 4700 21st street, thus increasing the manufacturing capacity there.
However, Severson said the company is outsourcing some of the manufacturing to their supply chain and will be converting the 21st street building into more of an assembly facility. Severson said they were not sure how many jobs will result from the reconfiguration.
“We’re gonna be outsourcing, but at the same time growing,” he said.
The company anticipates completion of the building in the fourth quarter of 2018.