Gentex wins tax credit; plans 1110 jobs

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Zeeland-based Gentex Corp. won state tax credits Tuesday morning to aid in an expansion project that includes plans for up to 1,110 new West Michigan jobs over the next five years.

"This is a big day," Gentex human resources vice president Bruce Los told 24 Hour News 8. The new jobs come on top of 600 new hires the company has made so far this year..

Los said projections of roughly 300 new jobs in the first year -- found in a state memo about the expansion -- are on the conservative side.

As for the overall job projection?

"We're very confident," the Gentex vice president said. "In all the grants we've got from the state of Michigan and from local tax abatements in the history of the company -- which is 37, 38 years -- we've never missed a jobs projection ever."

That stands despite layoffs in late 2008, he said.

Roughly 70% of the new jobs will be in electronics assembly positions, Los said. The remainder are expected to be degreed positions, including engineers.

The jobs are expected to pay an average of $574 per week, according to the state memo, which translates to $29,848 per year.

State tax credits awarded Tuesday are worth up to $2.4 million; companies only collect the credits once jobs are created. The state also expects local governments to approve $7.2 million in tax abatements for the project.

Gentex plans to invest $160 million in the project, according to a news release and state documents.

The growth is based in part on increased use of Gentex's existing products, Los said, including rear-view cameras and "smartbeam" headlights. The other growth area: new products such as forward-looking cameras, which, for example, can detect a pedestrian in the path of a car.

Expansions are planned at four facilities in Zeeland and one in Holland Township.

"It's fantastic," said Randy Thelen, president of Holland-Zeeland area economic development group Lakeshore Advantage. "We love to see the type of economic recovery that we're seein ghere."

Lakeshore Advantage worked with Gentex on the expansion, Thelen said.

So are any other companies in the Holland-Zeeland area planning to expand?

"We're definitely seeing that," Thelen said.

Last year, 66% of the companies surveyed by the group reported sales growth. So far this year, it's 88%, according to numbers provided by Lakeshore Advantage.

And the percentage of companies planning expansions in the next three years has grown from 57% in 2010 to 73% so far in 2011.

Thelen said the effects can already be seen in a drop in the unemployment rate in the area -- and more cars in company parking lots.

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Gentex is holding a job fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Doubletree Hotel in Holland. The company's current job listings include openings for engineers and production workers.