Supplier for electric vehicles plans $48M move to Lawrence

Parker Lord acquired a 210,000-square-foot building last September at 10401 E. 59th St., with plans to hire 55 people within six years as part of an expansion of its thermal management materials product line. (Image courtesy of Google)

A supplier of components and materials for electric vehicles plans to spend nearly $48 million to relocate Indianapolis-based operations to a larger facility in Lawrence and expand the business with dozens of new employees.

Parker Lord acquired a 210,000-square-foot building last September at 10401 E. 59th St., with plans to hire 55 people within six years as part of an expansion of its thermal management materials product line. It includes liquids and adhesives used to dissipate heat in electric vehicle components like batteries, motors headlights, infotainment systems and chargers.

The company, a division of Cleveland-based global conglomerate Parker Hannifin Corp., bought the building for $12.5 million from Southwark Metal Manufacturing Co. (now located in McCordsville), according to county property records. Parker Lord plans to spend $10.5 million to renovate the facility, with construction running from June 2023 to March 2024.

Parker Lord also plans to migrate 102 employees (including 61 Marion County residents) from its 214,000-square-foot existing facility at 5101 E. 65th St. once renovations are completed. Initial production is expected to start next summer.

The company plans to spend about $24.7 million on personal property, including new manufacturing equipment and office furniture.

During its meeting Feb. 15, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission preliminarily approved six-year personal property tax reductions for the new equipment, saving Parker Lord about $975,400 over the abatement period.

The company will still be expected to pay nearly $600,000 in personal property taxes on the new equipment over the abatement period. After the six-year period, the company is expected to pay about $220,000 per year in personal taxes on the equipment.

Parker Lord’s hiring plan calls for an average wage for new employees of $28 per hour—including 20 employees at $26; 10 at $27; 10 at $28; five at $29; and 10 at $30, according to a presentation Parker Lord shared with city officials and obtained by IBJ. The average wage for existing employees will be $32 per hour.

It plans to hire people to its manufacturing team, maintenance staff and for various support roles. Lord plans to spend about $48,000 on workforce support, through on-the-job training and classroom training.

The Indianapolis division of Parker Lord was founded in 1963 as Thermoset Resins, before it was acquired by Lord Corp. in 1998. Parker Hannifin bought Lord in 2019.

Neither a phone call nor an email sent to a spokesperson for Parker Lord were immediately returned on Tuesday.

Parker Hannifin, a publicly traded company, had revenue of $15.86 billion in 2022.