Trucking giant pegs Whitestown for parts distribution center, 45 hires

Daimler Trucks North America LLC is planning to open a truck parts distribution center in Whitestown, creating up to 45 new jobs at the facility next year.

Daimler will spend $12.35 million to lease and equip a 283,500-square-foot facility to be built in the AllPoints at Anson business park just east of I-65, according to state officials and information supplied to Whitestown in a tax incentive application. Construction on that building is scheduled to begin in October.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Daimler makes commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses names. In 2015, the company sold more than 160,000 truck units, making it North America’s leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer.

Once it’s up and running, the Whitestown facility will process 7,000 parts per day. Those parts will then be sent to sites within a 350-mile radius of the operation.

The facility is expected to be complete on Jan. 31, with hiring to take place after that. Daimler told Whitestown officials that most of the positions would be semi-skilled and clerical jobs with an average hourly wage of $16.50, although the facility also would employ a handful of salaried personnel with an average annual wage of $76,000.

The Whitestown Town Council on Wednesday night voted to provide Daimler a 10-year abatement on its personal property taxes for $6.6 million in equipment. Under this arrangement, Daimler’s tax liability would be phased in over that period, reducing its taxes by $316,076 over those 10 years.

“The firm foundation that Daimler has built over the years speaks to the quality and stability of the company,” Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton said in a press release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

The local incentives still require approval from a few other Boone County and Whitestown groups.

The IEDC is offering up to $310,000 in conditional tax credits based on Daimler’s job-creation plans.