$1.5M tax incentive aids Grand Rapids manufacturer’s consolidation, spurs 48 new jobs

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Hart & Cooley plans to invest $3.9 million to expand its Cascade Township operations and create 48 high-tech, high-paying jobs. A $1.5 million High-Technology MEGA Tax Credit over the next 10 years will help it meet those goals.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority board, Cascade Township and The Right Place, Inc. announced the tax credit this week.

Hart & Cooley manufactures air distribution and vent systems for heating, plumbing and air conditioning systems. The company will relocate its Toronto, Ontario operations to West Michigan, creating 48 new jobs that pay an average weekly base wage of $1,257 each.

“Creating a consolidation brings people together so you get more synergies than if you spread people out,” says Hart & Cooley President Bernard Roy.

The company will invest in new test equipment and research and development, yet remain in its 60,000-square-foot facility, which is just two years old.

“We were informed that the company was looking to consolidate locations and they had several options including Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Colorado,” says Tim Mroz, spokesperson for Right Place, Inc. “We assembled our people, Cascade Township and the MEGA board members and created an incentive package to entice them to expand their West Michigan location and consolidate in West Michigan.”

The company has been in West Michigan since 1928.

Cascade Township is expected to approve a personal property tax abatement for a period of up to 12 years.

Source: Tim Mroz, Right Place, Inc.; Bernard Roy, Hart & Cooley; Ivy Hughes, Capital Gains Media

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].

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