Global Track plant brings production to the U.S.

MILAN, Tenn.—China-based Global Track Manufacturing has invested an estimated $2.5 million into a Tennessee manufacturing site that is expected to bring at least 250 jobs to the area by 2021.

The firm purchased a 530,000-sq.-ft. site in Milan in 2017 that previously had operated as a Tower Automotive facility about a decade ago. The site had been vacant until Global Track owner Barry Min purchased it and began investing in lighting and facility upgrades with the goal of making rubber tracks for large U.S. manufacturers such as Case and John Deere, among others, said Kingsley Brock, Gibson County director of economic development. The plant is located in Milan.

Global Track produces rubber tracks and rubber pads for original equipment manufacturers in automotive, farm and industrial equipment and other related industries. The company produces its products by blending a rubber formula, inserting iron teeth and steel cable winding and vulcanization. According to its website, this process allows for the correct hardness and quality of the final products.

Initial production is expected to start in the summer of 2020. Min, who was born in China but has spent much of his life in Australia, has visited Tennessee an average of four times each year since 2017 and has shown a commitment to the Milan facility. He and Brock have worked closely together during that time to not only secure the site, but research available tax incentives and discuss strategies for finding experienced labor.

"He was told that to attract some of the manufacturers he wants to do business with that he should make some of his products in the U.S., and he's really become committed to that goal," Brock said. "It has taken him a little time to acclimate to this community because he never had been to Tennessee, but he's really spent some quality time here and wants this to work."

Under Min's direction, Global Track hired a plant manager in early 2018 and already had begun to make investments in the facility when higher tariffs were imposed on many Chinese-made products by President Donald Trump. The "Trade War" set Min back a bit in the production cycle, but he has vowed to open the facility by 2020. To that end, Min ramped up investments this year to the point that the Milan location is largely operational.

"The installation process will take a few months," Min said in an email. "We hope to begin testing the equipment and production process in the first quarter of 2020 and begin shipping rubber tracks in July/August timeframe."

Some of the equipment Min ordered to help start production will arrive in Tennessee this month, Brock said. Global Track expects to start hiring production staff, including engineers and machinists in the next few months, he added. Many of those staff members will be used to run rubber molders in the plant. A handful of back office personnel will be needed as well, although Brock said the hiring will happen gradually.

It was important for Global Track to have an operation in the U.S.—and Tennessee specifically—for several reasons, Min said. He added that American manufacturers want the "Made in the USA" label on their products.

"In order to sell product to Case and John Deere and other U.S. customers we needed to establish a manufacturing footprint in the states," Min said in an email. "We also found that Tennessee is home to over 900 automotive suppliers, which we felt was a good sign that manufacturing is a key component of the Tennessee economy."

Tax incentives have been given to Global Track from state and local entities. Tennessee offered a reimbursement training grant to help the company hire and train staff for the positions that will be needed, Brock said, adding that there is a labor shortage of qualified molding operators and related personnel in Gibson County.

"We've had about 2,500 manufacturing jobs added here (in Gibson County) in the last three to five years, and some of those new employees have come from neighboring communities or, in some cases, even outside of the state like southwestern Kentucky or other bordering states," Brock said. "This (skilled) labor shortage is not unique to us here, but with some of the growth we have had families come into the county because of the available jobs in manufacturing."

Those jobs have come from such employers as Ceco Door and Tyson Chicken, which recently have opened or expanded their manufacturing operations in Gibson County.

Global Track also received a tax credit of $4,500 per new hire from the Tennessee State Department of Economic Development. The Tennessee Valley Authority provided the company with utility incentives through a tax abatement.

Incentives will be important in reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S., which is important for a new manufacturing operation., Min said. Aside from incentives, there are numerous additional benefits of Global Track adding a U.S. facility, such as lower utility costs, fewer EPA regulations and reduced shipping costs by locating in Tennessee, he added. In addition, Tennessee has one of the lowest tax burdens of any state in the U.S.

"So incentives as well as the benefit of lower business costs and taxes were important in our decision-making process," Min said. In addition, we received a significant training grant from the state of Tennessee, which will help offset some of our training costs.

Min first became aware of the investment opportunity in Milan through the state's work with Chinese companies through its representative Li Weaver.

"A large group of team members there in Tennessee have worked tirelessly to help us get our building operational, act as an advocate for us in Washington regarding tariff issues, establish U.S. banking relationships, and have been supportive in every aspect," Min said. "We hope to provide an environment that will be attractive to the area work force."