Festool USA Expanding

[peter halle]

Ran across this article:  http://www.reporter.net/news/local_news/festool-planning-million-expansion-in-lebanon/article_7a70c13d-c56d-5e28-8682-bdc29a4bb6bb.html

Congratulations [member=101]Festool USA[/member] [member=67744]Festool HQ[/member] !!

Peter

 

[Gregor]

We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time.

Feels good to be protected.
Anyone got a mirror for the page?

 

[TSO_Products]

[member=53905]Gregor[/member]  - it refers to an article about Festool USA expanding their USA headquarters facility (again - as disclosed earlier) in Indiana.

while I am at it:
TANOS now has a USA warehouse in the southeast USA - a first for TANOS. Hard to believe that Franck Tetreau succeeded as far as he did all these years in the US by having to ship every order direct from Illertissen, Germany. A hard way to develop a market. This should make a significant difference. I know it will make it easier for us as we had already planned to introduce our own customized TSO version of the TANOS Systainer this fall.

Hans

 

[Cheese]

Ran across this article

Hey Peter, how do I access this article?

 

[copcarcollector]

Festool is again expanding its North American headquarters in the Lebanon Business Park.

Boone County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Molly Whitehead introduced the expansion plan to the Lebanon City Council Monday, in a pitch for two abatements for the company.

Festool, a German tool manufacturer that has been in businesses for 90 years, built its North American headquarters in Lebanon in 2006 and completed a significant expansion in '15.

“They doubled their capacity in 2015 and they continue to see a great amount of growth and they are interested in continuing to grow in Lebanon,” Whitehead said.

The new expansion will involve a $8.9 real property investment and $440,000 personal property investment and add 8,000 square feet to the existing facility. The space includes corporate offices, logistics and manufacturing.

The investment will add up to 65 new jobs to the company’s workforce of about 100 employees based in Lebanon. The new employees will make an average of $25 per hour, plus benefits.

Whitehead said, based on conservative estimates, that the investment will annually add $450,000 to the property tax levy, $6,000 to the personal property tax levy and $140,000 in income tax levy, estimating that about 20 percent of new employees will be county residents.

In return for the company’s investment in the city, the council approved a six-year non-traditional real property abatement that is projected to save the company $390,000 over the life of the abatement.

The council also awarded a 10-year personal property abatement that is expected to save $12,000 over the lifetime of the abatement.

Mayor Matt Gentry said he is glad Festool has chosen to again expand in Lebanon, adding that the abatement is to reward the company for investing in the community.

“Festool has been a great partner for the city of Lebanon and it's one of the few that has its U.S. headquarters here in Lebanon,” Gentry said. “I know the real property [abatement] is aggressive but we want to show our companies that we want them to expand here and grow their presence here in Lebanon.”

Festool CFO Brian Goldthorpe said the company is also happy to grow in Lebanon

“The qualities that drew us to Lebanon 11 years ago have only improved over the years, and were a key factor in our decision making process,” Goldthorpe said in a statement. “We appreciate all the support we have received from the community.”

 

[Alanbach]

I wonder if this just a result of Festool growing in the US market or if it has something to do with their acquisition of SawStop and some sort of need or desire to move more of that operation to Lebanon???

 

[sancho57]

I wonder if they expand there wharehouse so we can get the NAINA tools here.

 

[TylerC]

Thanks for sharing, [member=1674]Peter Halle[/member]. We were excited to get some nice local attention.

[member=66185]Alanbach[/member] - Good question. It’s mostly about Festool’s growth. At this point we’re not planning to bring SawStop to Lebanon. They’re doing a great job. (If it ain’t broke, right?) We doubled the size of our warehouse two and a half years ago, and it was nearly full almost immediately. The expansed warehouse will also allow us to shift other parts of the office to allow for more staff. (We are practically sitting on top of each other right now.) This  should give us a little more room to grow. It will also give us more room for more domestic production lines. We plan to manufacture and assemble more products here in the States.

 

[Alanbach]

That’s great! Thank you for the info! Take a few deep breaths, construction is never any fun but the results will be worth it!

 

[Kevin D.]

Obviously no fear of Donald imposing tariffs on German made power tools.  I'd keep my fingers crossed.

 

[sancho57]

Thanks for sharing, [member=1674]Peter Halle[/member]. We were excited to get some nice local attention.

[member=66185]Alanbach[/member] - Good question. It’s mostly about Festool’s growth. At this point we’re not planning to bring SawStop to Lebanon. They’re doing a great job. (If it aint broke, right?) We doubled the size of our warehouse two and a half years ago, and it was nearly full almost immediately. The expansed warehouse will also allow us to shift other parts of the office to allow for more staff. (We are practically sitting on top of each other right now.) This  should give us a little more room to grow. It will also give us more room for more domestic production lines. We plan to manufacture and assemble more products here in the States.

So Tyler,

Will the items being manufactured here (USA) be NAIE? Not available in the Europe?

 

[jeh]

The abatement is a nice way to piss on all existing businesses and taxpayers who have to absorb the difference.

 

[Alanbach]

If Lebanon doesn’t do it some other city will. Would you rather they moved?

 

[chrisrosenb]

The abatement is a nice way to  on all existing businesses and taxpayers who have to absorb the difference.

Existing businesses & taxpayers will not be absorbing anything. The abatement is on part of the new taxes that will be paid on the expansion.
Those increased taxes would not be paid if there was not an expansion. 

 

[RustE]

And after spending ~$9mil, the U.S. website still won’t show us what tools are registered.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

The abatement is a nice way to  on all existing businesses and taxpayers who have to absorb the difference.

I don’t really love commercial tax abatements, but in this case, I’m not sure the abatement is really costing the Lebanon any money.

“Whitehead said, based on conservative estimates, that the investment will annually add $450,000 to the property tax levy, $6,000 to the personal property tax levy and $140,000 in income tax levy, estimating that about 20 percent of new employees will be county residents.

In return for the company’s investment in the city, the council approved a six-year non-traditional real property abatement that is projected to save the company $390,000 over the life of the abatement.”

Judging from this quote, the potential extra property taxes per year on the expansion are $450,000. The real estate abatement is for six years, and is estimated to  save Festool $390,000 over yhe lifetime of the abatement. $390,000 divided by 6 is $65,000 , so the real estate abatement is about a 15% discount per year for just six years. I doubt the abatement is actually costing Lebanon or its residents any money, even if some extra infrastructure costs such as storm runoff, sewer improvements, or road work, has to be done for the expansion. At worst the costs would probably be revenue neutral, and I would still guess it would be revenue positive for Lebanon, given the amount of the additional property taxes. The abatement just gives Festool a bit of a tax break while they get the expansion up and running.

 

[McNally Family]

If Lebanon doesn’t do it some other city will. Would you rather they moved?

Yes, to Tennessee......

 

[peter halle]

It is amazing how fast a thread can go off topic.

Peter

 

[TylerC]

So Tyler,

Will the items being manufactured here (USA) be NAIE? Not available in the Europe?

Hopefully! It's about time we give them a taste of their own medicine, right?  [wink]

If Lebanon doesn’t do it some other city will. Would you rather they moved?

Yes, to Tennessee......

I second this! I lived in Nashville for seven years and would gladly go back. I actually just had a conversation yesterday with Festool's CEO of TTS North America about how great Nashville is. I'll win him over eventually.  [big grin]

 

[sancho57]

So Tyler,

Will the items being manufactured here (USA) be NAIE? Not available in the Europe?

Hopefully! It's about time we give them a taste of their own medicine, right?  [wink]

That would be awesome wouldnt it hehehehehehe