A Pulaski County manufacturer may soon be seeking a tax abatement. The county council approved a resolution Monday creating a preliminary economic revitalization area for Metal Fab Engineering.
Metal Fab President Travis McDowell told council members he’s taking steps to grow the business. “We need to begin looking at ways to be competitive, continue to service the area here,” he said. “We manufacture a lot of parts for the different businesses in the area here. To remain competitive, we need to reinvest in the business a little bit, and one of the components is people.”
However, Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer explained the business is not formally requesting a tax abatement just yet. “Tonight, we are not asking for any tax abatements,” he said. “We are just asking to get the property preliminarily designated to qualify for tax abatements. Next month, we’ll do a public hearing either way, so that we can confirm this, and at that point, there may be a tax abatement request on the table.”
Origer said that Metal Fab had requested a tax abatement from Pulaski County about a decade ago, but was turned down. “I think it may have left Mr. [Les] Ezra with a little bit of a sour taste in his mouth. Fast-forward a decade, Les is the chairman of the company, but Travis is now in charge of day-to-day operations, and he wants to be a company that grows and not one that is just sort of maintaining as it’s been. And right now is an opportunity for him to look at some growth opportunities and for us to sort of rebuild the relationship that was mangled a decade ago.”
No details about the company’s plans were revealed during Monday’s meeting. But Origer offered to discuss them with council members individually, before they’re publicly revealed during next month’s hearing.
