ELKHART, Ind.—Scientific Developments Inc., a Eugene, Ore.-based manufacturer of traffic safety products from recycled tire rubber, plans to open a facility in Elkhart early in 2013 to serve its Midwestern customers.
SDI said it is buying a 50,000-sq.-ft. plant in Elkhart for $1.55 million.
At full capacity, the Elkhart facility will employ 11 and process some 3 million pounds of recycled rubber annually, according to Keith Dahle, SDI president. The Eugene plant, which has been in operation since 1973, employs 18 and recycles nearly 6 million pounds of rubber annually.
The Eugene plant will not be affected at all by the opening of the Elkhart facility, according to Dahle. “This is an expansion, not a relocation,” he said.
To attract SDI to Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered SDI up to $45,000 in tax credits based on its job creation plans, SDI said. To receive the credits, SDI must hire only Hoosiers at the plant.
The City of Elkhart also offered property tax abatement to SDI, the company said.
SDI manufactures a variety of recycled rubber products for the traffic and transportation markets, including portable traffic delineators, wheel chocks, car stops, and speed bumps and humps. The company has shredding and molding capabilities, and also manufactures custom products in colored crumb rubber, according to the company website.