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AUBURN — The Auburn Plan Commission Tuesday approved a development plan for Scot Industries to begin construction.
A manufacturer of steel tube and bar products, Scot Industries could create up to 65 new jobs by 2014, its president, Steve Wilmeth, said in March. The company will invest several million dollars to equip a new, 250,000 square-foot plant on a 106-acre tract of land along the south side of C.R. 48, just west of I-69.
The company specializes in making hydraulic cylinder tubing and chrome-plated piston rods with virtually perfect roundness.
Phase 1 includes an approximately 368,000-square-foot building with parking lots and private access drives. The plans also include detention basins and connections to Auburn sewer, water and electric utilities. Pole-mounted lighting systems, site perimeter fencing and a project sign are also parts of the plan.
The facility would operate on a 24-hour/7-days-a-week schedule. Phase 1 requires 60-80 employees, with about 165 employees expected once the plant is fully built.
Further phases will include additional buildings measuring about 257,000 and 61,600 square feet, with a final floor area totaling about 690,000 square feet.
At Tuesday’s Plan Commission meeting, surrounding property owners brought up concerns about having an industry close to their homes. Auburn Department of Building, Planning and Development Director Bill Spohn said the land surrounding the 102-acre tract is zoned residential, so people shouldn’t be worried. Spohn said no trees would be cut down in a privately owned wooded area bordering the property.
The planning department is talking with construction engineers and property owners to work through any problems associated with the construction, Spohn said.
“Everyone seems to be satisfied,” Spohn said. “We felt good how the meeting went.”
Scot’s co-founder Tom Wilmeth remains active in the business, and his son, Steve, has managed and expanded the company over the past 30 years. Co-founder Harvey Wilmeth, Tom’s brother, died in 2007.
Based in Lone Star, Texas, Scot Industries employs more than 500 associates throughout the country. The company was founded in 1949 in Milwaukee and operates 10 manufacturing facilities in six states and Canada. |