TOG Manufacturing Co. Inc., located in the Hardman Industrial Park in North Adams, is expected to move south to the Renfrew Center in the Adams Corporate Park.

 

The company has outgrown its current space but has no opportunity to expand there so officials are looking to the mostly vacant 79,000 square foot building at 43 Printworks Drive. 

 

The company employs 45 full-time residents in the Northern Berkshire area and the move will create even more jobs.

 

TOG had been eyeing a place in Pittsfield when North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright heard the rumors that they would be leaving the city. He "engaged" with them for three weeks in an attempt to keep them in the city to no avail.

 

"We really scoured North Adams but couldn't find the proper fit," Alcombright said, adding that they looked at vacant land for the company to build new and at the reuse of other properties but none fit the company's needs. 

 

He contacted Adams Town Administrator Jonathan Butler to see if there was any property there to at least keep the growing company in the Northern Berkshires. Butler and the Board of Selectmen found that the Printworks Drive location worked and spent two months negotiating a tax incentive agreement.

 

"As soon as the mayor explained the parameters they were looking for, I immediately thought of the Renfrew Center," Butler said.

 

The building fit and TOG and the building's owner, Meehan & Co., worked out a lease arrangement with the town providing a tax incentive for the business. The building was constructed in the late 1990s.

 

"It's a three-party agreement where the town passes the tax benefit onto the owner, who is then required to pass it on to the leaser," Butler said. The Selectmen last month approved continuing the economic development area designation for the building.

 

The tax incentives exempts a percentage of the property value from the tax rolls over seven years. In the first two years, the property would be 100 percent exempt but in year three that will decline to 75 percent; 50 percent in year four and then 25 percent in years five, six and seven. The agreement will have to be approved by town meeting.

 

The local tax incentive will make the company eligible for state tax incentives as well and free up costs for at least a $700,000 capital investment into the property. The agreement calls for a minimum of six new jobs added in the first five years.

 

"Our hope is that it exceeds that number," Butler said. "We're glad to have the 46 jobs and the commitment for more than that."

 

The move nearly fills the Corporate Park. The Renfrew Center is the largest building and was only being 10 percent occupied by smaller businesses. Those businesses will stay there, Butler said, but the addition of TOG strengthens the park.

 

"The Corporate Park is pretty close to full. There are eight major buildings in the park and this was the largest so getting this used and bringing in a few dozen jobs is great," Butler said. "The Adams Corporate Park is a great success story."

 

While Butler credits the Community Development Department and the Board of Selectmen for their leadership in putting together the tax incentive agreement, he said none of it would have happened without the help of Alcombright.

 

"This is another example of how our relationship with the city is growing," Butler said. "We have a mutual recognition that we are in this together."

 

Butler added that the town has worked with the city on numerous projects to address "today's economic challenges."

 

"It's a loss for the city in some sense but it is a gain for the Northern Berkshires," Alcombright said. "We were going to lose them anyway ... this was to preserve what we have in Northern Berkshire County ... These are high-paying, highly skilled jobs so this was about keeping our economy strong."

 

The company manufactures precision-machined components primarily for the power generation and defense industries. TOG formed in 1982 as Tog Machining in Pittsfield, a sister company of Tog Mold started by Aldo Tognini in the 1970s. The machining company separated and relocated in North Adams in 1987 as TOG Manufacturing to accommodate growth with the power generation industry.

 

TOG nearly doubled the size of its North Adams building from 14,000 to 24,000 square feet. TOG's seven-year plan calls for significant investment in new and upgraded equipment, which will go into the larger Adams facility, if approved. Additional staff with be added with the new equipment.

 

TOG is also working with the state Office of Business Development for additional state assistance with capital investments.

 

Officials from TOG had not returned calls placed to their office on Thursday prior to publication.

 

Article 23 as it will appear on the town meeting warrant:

 

To see if the Town will vote to: (A) approve the Project Certification Application submitted by TOG Manufacturing Company, Inc. (TOG) on April 15, 2013 for its intended relocation to 43 Printworks Drive within the Adams Corporate Park; (B) approve the form of the Special Tax Assessment (STA) Agreement between the Town of Adams and TOG Manufacturing Company, Inc. and Greylock View Industrial Complex, LLC, a draft copy of which, subject to change, is on file with Town Clerk; and (C) confirm that the proposed project is (1) consistent with the goals of the 43 Printworks Drive Economic Opportunity Area (EOA) and will benefit significantly from its inclusion in said EOA; (2) will not overburden the Town’s municipal services, infrastructure and utilities servicing the EOA; (3) will increase employment opportunities for residents of Adams and the Northern Berkshire County Economic Target Area (ETA), thereby reducing blight, economic depression, and reliance on public assistance; and (4) will be designated as a certified project for a term up to seven years, or take any other action in relation thereto.