Slate Auto sparks excitement for Kosciusko County officials, but questions remain
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As news surrounding EV startup Slate Auto spreads, so has enthusiasm for the project from Kosciusko County officials.
To many, Slate’s recent announcement that it will turn the former RR Donnelly printing plant into a new automobile factory signals jobs, revitalization an important factory and diversifying the area’s tax base.
“It was a perfect fit,” said Peggy Friday, CEO of the Kosciusko County Economic Development Corp. (KEDCO). “There is a piece of that campus that is very historic with the community, and then to be able to to come in with new innovation and…there will be some suppliers that will likely follow a large development like this. So we were excited about the possibility.”
Friday was part of a team that worked with Slate, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and Phoenix Group—who will lease the factory building to Slate—to bring the automaker to Indiana.
Slate expects to start making its flagship EV—the Slate Truck—at the plant sometime next year. Before then, an attorney for Slate told Kosciusko County Council members the company will spend more than $360 million on rehabbing the building and installing all their advanced manufacturing equipment.
The total number of Slate jobs coming to Warsaw will be 1,679, council members were told.
Now Slate is asking for 10-year abatements on its real and personal property taxes that start at 100% and scale down by 10% each year.
Tax credits
Even for those who appreciate the scope of the project, there are concerns.
County council member Dave Wolkins, who represents the district where the Slate factory resides, questions how much traction Slate’s EVs will gain in the auto market, especially considering President Donald Trump’s opposition to the current federal EV tax credit for buyers.
Wolkins also has concerns about traffic on Old U.S. 30, and he’s also bothered that the IEDC isn’t revealing how much they’re providing Slate in tax relief.
“I have not been able to find out how much money the IEDC is giving them. … The people that know they all have non-disclosure agreements, which bothers me,” Wolkins told Inside INdiana Business. “I’m not sure why the county has to give them everything. Overall, it’s going to be a great having that many jobs but not everybody’s excited about, I’ll be honest with you.”
The IEDC’s transparency portal lists no contracts with Slate. Both Slate and KEDCO have declined to disclose specifics of IEDC tax abatements to Inside INdiana Business. Slate’s Head of Tax Melanie Riley told the county council the only two currently guaranteed IEDC credits is giving the company two Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, tax credits. One is for around $200,000 that’s focused on employee education and training, while another is an EDGE payroll credit.
On May 8, the county council gave its preliminary approval for the tax abatements, but a final, binding vote will happen at the council’s June meeting.
Kathy Groninger was the only council member who didn’t vote in favor of the measure. She abstained from the vote and did not respond to interview requests from Inside INdiana Business. Her husband, Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger, owns a local hauling and excavating company.
Kosciusko County Council President Tony Ciriello said he’s excited for Slate to come and diversify the region’s tax base, which is heavily reliant on orthopedics and agriculture.
“Bringing the amount of jobs that they would bring to this community, really no matter who it is, is so great for our economy,” he said. “But the fact that this is a newer company, this is going to be their first real venture in this world, just makes it more exciting. It makes it the future look a lot brighter for us.”
Ciriello said the plant employed thousands of workers in the past with RR Donnelly so he isn’t overly concerned with traffic. On the topic of tax abatements, he said what Slate is requesting is well within the norm of what the county has granted other companies in the past.
“The abatements they dare have sent to us to look at and to consider are in line with what just about any other business in this county has gotten in the past in the county or on a city level,” Ciriello said.
Slate in Warsaw
Where the nearly 1,700 workers will come from is yet to be seen, though recent layoffs at RV plants in Elkhart could dictate a labor market shift.
Housing for new workers will also be a issue for the county to tackle. Peggy Friday said KEDCO is rising to meet the anticipated demand with a partnership with Club 720 to help clients forge a path to homeownership
“We have identified potential sites across Kosciusko county in our 14 communities. We’re working with seven of those communities right now on attainable housing,” Friday said. “Housing that has creative ways to capital stack that mortgage, so it’s a little bit more a lot more affordable.”