Constantine Village Council members voted unanimously Monday evening (June 17) meeting to give Vaupell Midwest Molding and Tooling, located at 485 Florence Road, a 12-year, 50 percent tax abatement on an investment of $254,469. It will be used to add a 20 x 40 class 1000 cleanroom, to accommodate the increase in business for medical products. Work is projected to be complete by mid September, and will add a minimum of 20 jobs. There are currently 145 people employed at the plant.
Vaupell general manager Ted Duggan and plant controller Richard Jackson attended the meeting to answer questions.
“We’re excited at the potential. We’re adding jobs, and this investment will also solidify jobs,” Duggan said.
Cathy Knapp, a director at Southwest Michigan First, also attended the meeting. “Vaupell has been growing steadily for some time now, diversifying its product line. The council is making a good investment by granting the abatement, and will get a good return,” Knapp said.
Larry Piper, chairman of the DDA board said he was happy with the council action. “Mr. Duggan gave a Rotary presentation on Vaupell. I was not aware of all they did and I was very impressed. They’ve been a staple here for many years. This is a great opportunity for the village,” he said.
Several council members agreed. “Vaupell has been very good to our community. It’s an asset to the village,” trustee Gary Mathers said. “I went on a tour of Vaupell. I was very impressed at the diversity of the business,” trustee Cathy Piper added.
The council read a letter written by Christy Trammell, president and CEO at Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce. “We are pleased Vaupell has chosen to continue to conduct business in the Constantine area and that they are at a point where growth is desired. We are also pleased the council is pro-business and has created an environment where businesses choose to locate and grow,” she said.
Vaupell is the market leader in aircraft interior subassemblies for commercial aerospace applications. The company is also a leading producer of airframe components for aircraft and rotorcraft, utilizing plastics and composite technologies: injection molding, rapid prototyping, and so forth. In addition, Vaupell manufactures highly engineered components for medical and commercial markets. The Constantine plant specializes in injection molding. The facility has Class 8 (100,000) and Class 7 (10,000) cleanrooms and non-cleanroom molding and assembly.
In other council business, Gary Mathers, Sewer Ad Hoc Committee chairman, read a memorandum to update the council: “Our committee was asked to review recommendations from James Baker, Three Rivers WWTP superintendent at a June 3 council meeting. On June 10 we discussed three options from Baker–replacement of three sections of force main at a cost of $44,100, replacing the worst section of force main and painting two others sections at a cost of $23,300, and an option not formally quoted to repair the worst section at a cost of $23,600, After lengthy discussion we decided to seek additional information, including the condition of the interior of the force main and exterior of the pipeline,” Mathers said.
The committee requested the village manager seek and price various methods to evaluate the overall condition, and to request inspection and maintenance records concerning the air release vent valves from Three Rivers. “We felt that before recommending a repair strategy, it would be prudent to inspect the integrity of the entire force main, to evaluate costs and expected useful life of repairs and how they relate to ongoing negotiations with Three Rivers and the overall evaluation of the Fleis and Vandenbrink Feasibility Study,” he said.
Mathers said the next Sewer Ad Hoc Committee meeting is July 2.
Source: Story and Vaupell photo contributed by Angie Birdsall.