Defense Contractor Armor Holdings Expands in Butler County Ohio

HAMILTON, Ohio, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Butler County Board of Commissioners today approved an Enterprise Zone tax abatement agreement for Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group. The West Chester Township Board of Trustees approved the agreement earlier this week.

"We are very pleased that Armor has decided to stay and expand their operations in Butler County," said Commission president Greg Jolivette.

The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of military vehicles, vehicle armor systems, and life safety and survivability systems. Armor's Butler County operation is focused on military vehicle armoring programs including the up-armored HMMWV ("Humvee"), various military trucks, and the armored cabs for more than 1,100 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which are part of a $518 million contract recently announced by the company.

Commission vice president Chuck Furmon said that he was heartened that another manufacturer was expanding in the County. "Ohio has experienced an erosion in manufacturing jobs but here in Butler County we are seeing growth in that segment of the economy," Furmon said.

The $75 million project will include the construction of a new 60,000 sq. ft. ballistic glass plant, office space remodeling, and the addition of a larger lobby and customer reception area. Armor will add 300 new jobs to its current workforce of 742.

Armor Holdings has revalidated Butler County as a good place to do business that is very attractive to manufacturers," said Commissioner Don Dixon.

Democrat Job-Killing Tax Could Eliminate 1,200 8th District Jobs

From the mailbox:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 1,200 workers in Ohio ’s 8th District could get the pink slip because of a job-killing tax hike slipped into the Farm Bill at the last minute by Democrats. Throughout Ohio, more than 200,000 jobs could be lost if Democrats succeed in raising taxes on international companies that “insource” to the U.S., according to date compiled by the Ohio Department of Development and the Organization of International Investment.

Nearly another 4,000 jobs in counties surrounding the 8th District could also be imperiled because of this tax hike while nationwide, “insourcing” companies employ more than 5.1 million Americans. These jobs have an average compensation per worker of $63,428 – 32 percent higher than typical U.S.-based jobs.

“The tax increases just keep coming,” Boehner said. “This latest tax-raising scheme threatens millions of jobs and was sprung on the American public at the last possible moment, with Democrats hoping that its inclusion in legislation as important as the Farm Bill would force its passage. But you cannot increase the security of American farmers by destroying millions of American jobs, endangering the economic freedom and security of millions of working families. This is completely unacceptable, and we’re going to fight it.”

The “insourced” jobs comprise 4 percent of the private-sector workforce in Ohio and maintain a heavy concentration in manufacturing – fully 45 percent of the jobs at these companies are in manufacturing industries, according to the OFII. Companies like BASF Corp. in Darke County , which employs about 150 people, Miller Brewing Co. in Butler County , with 600 workers, and American Honda Motor Co. choose to locate their subsidiaries in the 8th District. Other companies, such as Reed Elsevier in Montgomery County with 3,100 workers and Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc., which employs about 800 people in Warren County, are U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies.

“The State of Ohio, in general, and the city of Troy, in particular, have relied on the recruiting of International companies to offset the significant job looses we have experienced over the last two decades,” said Chuck Cochran, president of the Troy Area Chamber of Commerce. “And as globalization of our economy continues, we will need to rely on international investment and in-sourcing of jobs even further. Haphazard amendments such as the one proposed by the Democrats is simply out of touch with how the world’s economy functions today.”

Ohio companies that could be affected by the Democrats’ tax on foreign companies that “insource” jobs to the U.S.:

Akzo Nobel; Alcon; BASF; Boehringer Ingelheim; BP; Bridgestone Americas; Cadbury Schweppes; DaimlerChrysler; Deutsche Telekom; GlaxoSmithKline; Honda; HSBC; Huhtamaki; Lafarge North America, Inc.; L'Oreal USA; Miller Brewing Co.; Mitsubishi Electric; Nestlé USA, Inc.; Novelis Corp.; Oldcastle Inc. Philips; Protec-Pac; Reed Elsevier; Rexam; Rolls-Royce North America, Inc.; Saint Gobain; Sanofi-aventis SAP; Shell Oil Company; Siemens; Sodexho; Square D; Sumitomo Corp.;Toyota; Tyco; Voith; and Volvo