EAST JORDAN, Mich. (AP) - A prominent employer in East Jordan is prepared to move its main foundry operations facility that has lined the small town’s shorefront for more than 130 years.
The News-Review reported that infrastructure production company EJ, formerly known as East Jordan Iron Works, announced last month that it’ll uproot the facility and all 350 employees to a new location about 13 miles east in Elmira.
General manager Tom Teske told the Traverse City Record-Eagle many details need to be worked out with local and state officials before the project is finalized.
“We’ve grown significantly over 133 years and the current foundry is our original site,” said Teske, to the Traverse City Record-Eagle. “It’s been updated many times, but now we’re at a point where we’ve seen the new technology available, and we’ve decided it’s best to build a new location from the ground up.”
According to Teske since the new facility will be “state-of-the-art” with top-of-the-line technology it could create additional jobs due to the types of skills that would be needed to run the facility. However, Teske also said it is still too early to say whether EJ plans to hire more employees. He said the company will train all current foundry employees before searching for new talent.
EJ plans to break ground on the facility in the spring. They hope to move in by fall of 2018 and have production underway by February 2019.
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