Just over a year after getting a tax abatement from Marshall County, Faulkner Fabricating was back in front of the County Council Monday to request another one. Jerry Faulkner says his Bourbon-area business has grown faster than he anticipated. “Had we known that we were going to have the significant growth that we’ve had in our business in the last few years, we probably would’ve doubled our last building project, and it’s just become evident that we must build again, we must add more equipment to keep up with our customers’ demands,” he said.
His current plans call for a new 42,000-square-foot addition to be constructed on the north side of the existing buildings. About 25 percent of that will be used for warehousing purposes.
Faulkner says the new building, including electrical, lighting, and heating work, will cost about $960,000. Meanwhile, he says the company also plans to purchase nearly $217,000 worth of new coating equipment immediately. Faulkner says the expansion will allow for the creation of another five full-time jobs at Faulkner Fabricating. “It’s exciting to see what’s going on right now,” he said. “It’s been very busy, and not having enough space kind of puts a little stress twist to that.”
To help with these upgrades, the company’s requesting a tax abatement with a 10-year phase-in. Jerry Chavez with the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation says that even though the site was designated an Economic Revitalization Area when the existing abatement was granted, state law requires the council to go through the process again with the new request.
Council members approved that first step unanimously Monday. A public hearing on the abatement will be held during the Marshall County Council’s November 14 meeting. After that, the council will decide whether to finalize the tax abatement.
