Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Silver Lake company that started out in the early 1980s with a $1,200 loan was granted tax abatement for an expansion project and won the rare support of a Kosciusko County councilman.
Wabash Valley Manufacturing, which makes outdoor furniture, is planning a $1.5 million expansion that will result in about 20 jobs being created.
The 15-year-old company employs about 180 people, and added about 30 jobs in the past year. Company spokesman Darrell Norse said the 20 jobs predicted in the next phase was a conservative figure.
The company specializes in "plastisol" coated furniture that is customized to order and sold through catalogues and independent distributors.
Abatement over the next 10 years was approved unanimously and a motion to approve was offered by Tom Anglin, traditionally one of the biggest opponents of abatement on the council.
Anglin congratulated the company on its success and said he supported the abatement because the company is a supporter "of the little man."
The company is family owned and operated by Jerry and Michael Shilling.
The company expanded about three years ago and the new proposal would be an extension of the current building, located on the town's east side.
In other council business:
• About $9,000 was approved for spending on pauper counsel used by indigent criminal defendants. The money was transferred from other accounts.
• Approved $10,000 be used to purchase a copier for court offices in the main floor of the Justice Building. Court workers in that area currently rely on a copier in the clerk's office.
• Approved the immediate spending of $25,000 originally planned for next year for computer upgrades in the assessor's office. The project is ahead of schedule, according to assessor Sue Ann Mitchell.
