BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- Duncan Aviation plans to spend $19.5 million to expand its facility at W.K. Kellogg Airport, creating 380 jobs.
The aviation maintenance company said the expansion, in the works since fall 2000, will add 125,000 square feet to the existing 200,000-square-foot facility in Battle Creek. Groundbreaking is set for June 7.
The project was sidelined when the economy was hurt after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but a steady increase in business over the past four years led has revived it, the company said.
Both skilled technicians and support workers are expected to be hired at the company, facility manager Mack Jones told the Battle Creek Enquirer for a Wednesday story. The 380 jobs are to be in place in three to five years.
''Some technical workers will be brought in from around the region, but many can be trained onsite,'' Jones said.
A single business tax credit of $2.2 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. helped convince the company to expand in Battle Creek as opposed to Lincoln, Neb., the company's headquarters.
In addition to the tax incentives, the state will provide up to $175,000 in a job training and development grant. The company employs about 500 people in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo.
James Willbrandt has worked at Duncan for about a year and said he's looking forward to the expansion.
''This is a great place to work already, but this will really boost morale,'' Willbrandt said. ''It's going to give us a lot more space _ we need it.''
