Volusia County
economic development officials saw their plans for a new industrial
park in west Volusia County take a giant leap forward in December
when Intellitec Products, a division of the NSI Group, Huntington
Woods, Michigan, became the first tenant to break ground at DeLand
Crossings Industrial Park at the intersection of Interstate 4 and
State Road 44, east of DeLand.
Company
representatives and state, county and city officials were on hand
for the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Construction
is well under way for our facility and we expect to be up and
running in the new plant this year,” said Chris Benham, NSI vice
president. “Our manufacturing people are working in a facility owned
by Ideal Aluminum at the DeLand Municipal
Airport Industrial Park. They are beginning to make preparations for
the transition to our new 63,000-squarefoot facility.”
The company
secured $6.5 million in industrial revenue bonds to fund
construction and startup.
NSI
Intellitec, a designer and manufacturer of specialty electronics for
motor vehicles and recreational vehicles, purchased the DeLand
Crossings parcel for $860,720. The company’s headquarters is in
Lombard, Illinois. Its marketing and product development divisions
will remain there, according to Frank Ellow, vice president of
manufacturing.
DeLand
Crossings is at the intersection of Interstate 4 and State Road 44.
It covers 43 acres and will yield 300,000 square feet of
manufacturing space. “This is enough space for several
manufacturers,” said Rick Michael, Volusia County’s director of
economic development. “That could translate to hundreds of new jobs
and the addition of more than $30 million to the tax roll.
DeLand
Crossings was conceived in response to the need for more ready-to-go
business parks in Volusia County, a key component of Volusia
County’s Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan adopted in
2002.
Another
company that purchased land at DeLand Crossings is BBK Performance,
a California-based automobile parts manufacturer, will break ground
in March. Its parcel was purchased for $420,000 and will accommodate
a manufacturing facility of 62,000 square feet. Initial fulltime
employment in its new facility is projected to be 40 with a capital
investment of about $6 million.
BBK
Performance and Intellitec Products will benefit from economic
development incentives designed to recruit light manufacturing
companies to Volusia County and generate highskilled, high-wage
jobs.
