Fastenal plans local manufacturing site, 97 new jobs

Fastenal Co., a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, plans to spend $4.2 million to redevelop an abandoned northwest-side industrial site into a manufacturing facility, retaining 55 local employees and creating 97 jobs by 2020.

The company is seeking a property-tax abatement from the city worth an estimated $263,444 to make the plan possible, according to the Department of Metropolitan Development. The plan received preliminary approval Wednesday from the Metropolitan Development Commission and is set for a final-approval hearing at the Feb. 18 MDC meeting.

Fastenal, based in Winona, Minn., has operated a local distribution center at 5757 Guion Road for more than 20 years that employs about 200 workers.

It recently acquired a 23.7-acre site nearby, at 3939 W. 56th St., that contains three buildings, including a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing and office building that was vacated in 2010 by Diversified Systems Inc.  The abandoned building has been heavily damaged by vandals who stole much of the mechanical systems for scrap metal.

Fastenal said it would like to use the building to manufacture custom orders, replacement parts and fasteners that are now being made in Thailand. The company would use 55 employees from the Guion Road site to start operations and add nearly 100 employees as business grew.

Existing employees make an average wage of $16.95 an hour. New employees are expected to make $14.36 per hour.

The company is requesting a tax abatement that would save it 100 percent of its property taxes on the property for three years.

The DMD said Fastenal would pay an estimated $134,484 annually in property taxes after the abatement ends based on the improvements. No taxes have been paid on the property since 2010 because it is city-owned.

Last March, Fastenal was approved for tax abatements at its Guion Road facility, where it plans to add 60 workers by the end of next year.