Intelligrated awarded $24 million incentive package from Ohio

Material handling company Intelligrated says it has accepted a $24 million financial incentive package from the state of Ohio. The funds will be used to expedite the integration of recently acquired FKI Logistex and expand Intelligrated's operations in the Ohio cities of West Chester, London, and Mason. The company says it will be able to add 267 jobs in the state and retain the 537 existing full-time positions in Ohio.

The incentives include low-interest research and development loans and other loans to the Butler County (Ohio) Port Authority to fund the acquisition of a 282,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in West Chester that will be leased to Cincinnati-based Intelligrated.

The Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit Authority also awarded Intelligrated a job creation tax credit to support the project in Butler County as well as its expansion plans in Mason and London. The company will be required to operate at the project site for 13 years.

Another project to be funded is the integration and upgrade of the FKI Logistex and Intelligrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, Intelligrated said. Intelligrated bought FKI Logistex earlier this year.

"The incentive package sends a message of the importance of retaining high-quality manufacturing jobs in the state. It also underscores the strategic role of Intelligrated's world class material handling solutions to Ohio's plan of becoming the premier international gateway and logistics hub in North America," Chris Cole, Intelligrated's CEO, said in a statement.