Cummins bringing 30 jobs to area
JANESVILLE — A manufacturer and distributor of engines and power generation systems plans to open a warehouse in Janesville that would add up to 30 jobs to the local economy.
The city council is expected to act Monday on a Tax Increment Finance agreement with the Indiana-based Cummins, Inc.
Cummins plans to lease 187,500 square feet in a facility built and owned by local developer Jeff Helgesen and the Helgesen Family Limited Partnership on the city’s south side.
Under the terms of the agreement, the city would make Cummins a $187,500 forgivable loan that will be amortized at 4 percent interest over 10 years. The loan’s repayment would be linked to the creation and retention of 30 jobs. If the Cummins plant employs fewer than 30 workers in any year, it would repay a portion of the loan.
If Cummins leaves Janesville at the end of its initial five-year lease, the Helgesen partnership would be responsible for the loan’s balance.
The TIF loan is expected to help Cummins with building improvements, equipment and employee training.
Cummins is a group of businesses that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems.
While doing business in 160 countries, it posted 2007 sales of $13 billion.
Mark Land, a Cummins spokesman, said the company’s Janesville warehouse would serve its manufacturing plants in Mineral Point and Wautoma, which make exhaust treatment systems for the treatment of emissions.
The Janesville plant would warehouse and distribute parts to those plants. It also would handled finished products and at some point might do light assembly work.
The majority of the plant’s employees would not be on Cummins’ payroll. Land said Cummins would contract with a third-party company for the distribution work, and he said he didn’t know what the distributor’s wage scale would be.
“We’re not logistics experts, so we’ll hand-pick a company to do that for us,” Land said. “That’s a fairly common business model for us.”
Helgesen built the 250,000-square-foot building on Venture Drive in 2007. One tenant already occupies a quarter of the building, and Cummins would move into the remainder.
Land said Cummins plans to install warehouse racks and forklift equipment this fall.
Working with the third-party distributor, Cummins plans to create 25 jobs by June 2009 and an additional five by the following June.
“The building’s proximity to the Interstate and the fact that it was a facility that met our needs and that we could get in pretty quickly appealed to us,” Land said.
Helgesen’s building on Venture Drive originally was expected to be the home of LiquiPur Holdings, which announced in August its intention to move its bottling operation from the Chicago area to Janesville.
When Cummins expressed an interest in the building, Helgesen was able to convince LiquiPur to move to a building he owns at 505 S. Wuthering Hills Drive on the city’s east side.
LiquiPur is expected to add 90 jobs to the local economy.
Oct 11, 2008 at 11:20 a.m.
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This city I thought was the "city of parks" will have to changed it to "City of warehouse"
Oct 10, 2008 at 10:04 p.m.
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Yes 30 jobs here 30 jobs there is a good thing. Our leaders should be trying to make this city more attractive to "green" companies, solar, wind, natural gas, those types of industries, and even medical and biomedical fields. High paying manufacturing jobs are a relic of the past and things need to be done to insure Janesville's tax base.
The other side is that GM stands at approximately 1150 workers making an average $25 an hour. That translates to almost $60 million dollars in gross wages. When you throw Lear Corporation into the mix that brings the total to almost $80 million in gross wages. And that doesn't even include all the smaller corporations that do work for both companies. It would take over 4000 $10 per hour jobs to fill that void once GM pulls out. Not to knock this company at all, I'm happy that they chose Janesville, I just think our city government should be looking for ways to rebuild our tax base once GM pulls out. Wages, property tax, etc. There will be people who will still live in Janesville, and some will leave, some will find jobs here and some will find jobs elsewhere. The city needs to be prepared to whether a hit should it occur.
Oct 10, 2008 at 4:33 p.m.
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Right now any job that comes to Janesville is a good job. Cities across the country are looking for jobs to come their way. So PLEASE quit complaining.
Oct 10, 2008 at 4:09 p.m.
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I think Janesvillean used $500,000 as a rounded figure and if you read a little closer you will notice that the word "over" was also used.
Oct 10, 2008 at 3:29 p.m.
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Your probably right or at least pretty near. Does anybody know what the John Deere warehouse pay?
Oct 10, 2008 at 3:22 p.m.
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I also agree with Sannio. That would make 130 jobs with the LiquiPur company coming as well. What I don't get is where you got $9.00 / hr. from? I have looked twice now and don't see that mentioned.
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:37 p.m.
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30 jobs here,30 jobs there, and pretty soon we're talking about some serious employment. If I had a choice to make $9/hr, or watch my unemployment comp. run out while I wait for that job that deserves me, I'd take the $9/hr and be happy to do it. Well, happy to have a job anyway. That's a big thing, you know. A job.
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:36 p.m.
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To bad about GM and all those employees affected.
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:36 p.m.
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sry spark. that was a little thing i call sarcasm. apparently it hasnt gotten this far north yet....;)
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:18 p.m.
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The Kid- isn't there some new story about marijuana you should be posting all your expertise on somewhere? Your last post makes absolutely no sense to me.
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:14 p.m.
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I'm so sick of hearing about GM i could puke. Like I've said before, they don't now what they're doing in the next 5 minutes. Every story is about how bad they're buried. Wake up people! GM is in big, big trouble. I can't believe people complain on this site about new jobs being brought in. They're jobs aren't they!! What do you want? And you better get used to GM not being here and this community finding other avenues of jobs!!
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:13 p.m.
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I can't wait till it's not a GM town.
Oct 10, 2008 at 2:06 p.m.
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ENOUGH...im so sick of reading these feelgood stories where theyre bringin jobs to janesville. does the gazette actually employ reporters?? is there maybe a slim chance we could get a story about whats happening with GM?? huh?? this is a GM town after all;)
Oct 10, 2008 at 1:19 p.m.
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I'm not sure what the scandal of $9/hr jobs is. They're not great jobs, but this isn't an assembly facility -- it's a warehouse. It will mean an annual payroll into the local economy of over $500,000.
Oct 10, 2008 at 12:36 p.m.
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The 3rd party is not a temp agency - the 3rd party will be a logistics (3PL) company responsible for bringing in the product from Mineral Point/Wautoma. They will "kit" and route to Cummins' OEM customers - mostly on-highway trucks.
Cummins facilities help sustain numerous small communities in WI - Mineral Point, Viroqua, Arcadia, Stoughton to name a few.... Not sure how the 3PL will fit in the Janesville landscape - but jobs coming, is better than jobs leaving.
Oct 10, 2008 at 11:51 a.m.
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gottabe... 9.00/hr is not real good pay, UNLESS you are currently making $0.00/hr! It's funny how people who just can't lower themselves to work for 9.00/hr seem to have no problem at all lowering themselves to run into the local welfare office to beg for 170.00/month in Food Stamps.
Oct 10, 2008 at 11:45 a.m.
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Thanks to those who helped win this deal. It's the first of today's good news.
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