Governor visits local facility to announce tax credit incentives
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in chief
An expansion at LDV’s Burlington facility that could create as many as 30 jobs got a boost last week with the announcement – delivered in person by Gov. Scott Walker – that the company is eligible to receive up to $107,500 in state tax credits.
The local company could receive that full amount by adding at least 17 jobs, based on a formula developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which administers the incentive program.
“It’s good for Burlington and it’s good for the local job market,” said David Lynch, chairman of the board for LDV, which customizes truck chassis into specialty vehicles, including emergency response trucks and commercial display vans. “We have some new and very major accounts that require not only more space, but a better (product) flow.
“It was basically logistics.”
Work began this week on clearing the way for a 25,000-square foot addition to the company’s “metals” building, according to President Kurt Petrie, who explained the company is currently using several buildings in the city’s industrial park to handle its needs.
The expansion will include a loading dock, two warehouse bays, two wash stalls and three additional production bays, he said.
“The main reason is to increase capacity, but we also gain the benefits of added efficiency,” Petrie explained.
The addition will allow the company to consolidate most of its manufacturing operations in two buildings instead of the current three, or four when warehousing is factored in.
Petrie said LDV, which stands for Lynch Diversified Vehicles, is already well on its way to filling 17 new positions and may end up adding a total of 25 to 30 jobs once the expansion is complete and operations are running at full capacity.
According to Petrie, the company will be looking for metal fabricators, welders and project managers.
The building addition could be completed by September.
Governor comes calling
According to Petrie, the visit from the governor Friday to make the announcement was not as complicated as it may have appeared. Many assumed that Lynch, a prominent local Republican, had connections in Walker’s office that resulted in the visit.
Petrie said it was simply a matter of checking a box on the WEDC application indicating that LDV would be receptive to a visit from the governor.
That and the fact that Walker is in the midst of a recall campaign against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made the timing right for the governor’s public appearance.
Walker arrived around 11 a.m. and spoke to assembled employees and company guests in the LDV parking lot with several of the company’s specialty vehicles as a backdrop.
After making the tax credit announcement, Walker worked the crowd shaking hands and chatting with employees before taking questions from the assembled media.
The media presence was relatively heavy for an announcement of this size mainly due to the fact this was a first chance they would have to publicly question the governor regarding comments made in an 18-month-old video that surfaced last week. In the video recorded for a documentary, Walker used the words “divide and conquer” when discussing public labor unions with a wealthy supporter.
Walker said the video showed he was “willing to stand up for the taxpayers,” adding, “You can’t balance the budget without reforms to collective bargaining.”
However, he added, that he has learned from the past year of divisive debate and said, “I don’t want to go back and replay that debate.”
After the press conference Walker and other dignitaries toured LDV’s facilities and took time to speak with production and office employees.
“The employees were excited,” Petrie said, it’s not every day they get a visit from the governor.
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