Sign company ends economic development deal with Fishers

A sign company that moved to Fishers in 2014 and snagged an economic incentives deal with the city is backing out of the plan.

In a letter sent to assistant director of economic development Tim Gropp, AI Innovations chief financial officer Zach Nichols wrote that the company wished to end the economic development deal and tax abatement.

The $235,000 agreement, which was approved in September 2014, included commitments from AI Innovations to double its workforce and invest $6 million on equipment by 2019. The company also planned to sign a long-term lease for the former 160,000-square-foot Diamond Foods facility at 11899 Exit Five Parkway.

AI Innovations was founded in 1999 as Awning Innovations. At the time the five-year tax abatement was approved, the company had 105 employees with plans to add 133 positions at nearly $29 an hour.

AI Innovations relocated to Fishers from Mount Comfort in 2014 with intentions of working with VoxLumen Corp., which had landed its own economic development deal to produce more efficient lighting technology. But VoxLumen rescinded the offer of working with AI Innovations before it even collected the $800,000 that Fishers had pledged to the project.

According to city documents, AI Innovations is not pursuing the incentive detailed in the tax abatement offer, but it is committed to Fishers.

The company had not received any financial benefit from the city so there is no claw-back required.