Macomb Township

Board grants local company tax abatement

By Robert Guttersohn
C & G Staff Writer

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution Oct. 24 supporting the creation of a tool and die recovery zone for expanding local manufacturer Baker Aerospace.

The recovery zone will include two additional structures across the street from the company’s current building at 23 Mile Road, just west of Romeo Plank. With the approved status, the company will be able to operate at the two additional buildings essentially tax-free for at least the next five years, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Trustee Roger Krzeminksi took a tour of the two new buildings, and before the board approved the measure, he said he was impressed with the facilities and with Scott Baker, the company’s vice president.

“He has hired a lot of Macomb Township residents,” Krzeminski said. “So he understands that we do have a lot of our people here that are out of work.”

Macomb Township Supervisor Mark Grabow also spoke positively of the local manufacturer.

“This company has actually been one of the diamonds out there that has been a leader with the program since they came into us from the county,” he said.

In addition to hiring several Macomb workers, Grabow said several Baker Aerospace employees who were not living in the township when hired now are.

At a November 2011 Board of Trustees meeting, the township granted a seven-year, 50-percent tax abatement to Baker Aerospace. Scott Baker said at the meeting that his company was planning to invest $1.7 million in new equipment and hire an additional 20 employees.

At that time, Jim Ahee, a senior economic development specialist from the county, told the Chronicle that Baker Aerospace had tripled the number of its employees since 2009, from 29 employees to 88.

Scott Baker told the board in 2011 that the company was against the ropes from the recession, but due to the tax exemptions it has received, it was able to diversify from an automotive supplier to an aerospace supplier and obtain several defense contracts.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Robert Guttersohn at rguttersohn@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5006.