Council Gives NTN Driveshaft The Go-Ahead

A plan that could bring 400 jobs to Anderson has received preliminary city council approval. NTN Driveshaft says it will invest $129 million into a production facility and could break ground in September.

The 80-acre site is located near the Nestle plant, which has undergone tens of millions of dollars in improvements in recent years. NTN officials will now seek 10-year tax abatement approval in the coming weeks. The 325,000 square-foot facility will include an on-site health clinic and is expected to employ workers at an average rate of $16 per hour. Our partners at The Herald Bulletin report it could be operational in 2017.

NTN Driveshaft, whose NTN USA, Inc. parent is a subsidiary of Japan-based NTN Corp., considered expanding its existing Bartholomew County footprint, but Anderson officials say the necessary skilled work force was not available in that area. The company also considered a site in Georgia.

Mayor Kevin Smith says NTN's interest shows the city's global employer recruitment efforts are paying off. The focus has also yielded Sirmax North America, Inc.'s recent groundbreaking on a more than $25 million plant. It will be the Italian-owned auto parts supplier's first North American production operation. In March, the Thailand-based parent company of Royal Interpack North America Inc. announced $11 million plans to locate an operation in Anderson and create up to 135 jobs by 2018.