Council OKs Tax Breaks for Helmer Headquarters
Council OKs Tax Breaks for Helmer Headquarters
December 1, 2006 - Paraphrased Article from Noblesville Ledger
By: Chris Sikich
A Noblesville life-science company with 112 workers and a $5.3 million payroll has decided to move its corporate headquarters to the Saxony Corporate Campus so the business can grow.
Helmer first announced the deal with Noblesville in March 2005, but Noblesville Economic Development Director Chris Hamm said the company pulled back while it went through some internal growth. Hamm, who has been working on the deal for the past two years, said he was glad Helmer is now ready to commit to Noblesville after looking at locations throughout the Midwest.
Helmer manufactures projects for blood banks and clinic laboratories, including platelet storage systems, plasma-thawing systems, cell-washing systems, refrigerators, centrifuges and freezers.
Hamm said the company’s move to Exit 10 on Interstate 69 could help the city form a certified technology park there. Tech parks offer perks to companies, including access to professionals and research at universities, locations near similar companies and tax breaks.
Helmer was the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce’s 2005 Business of the Year. Sharon McMahon, Noblesville chamber president, said the company and co-founder/president David Helmer have helped the community, and she appreciates that the company will stay. “They are extremely important to the economic vitality of Noblesville, because they are a local business that does business internationally. I think that’s very important in the 21st century,” she said.
Ground breaking is projected to begin Spring 2007, with completion that fall, according to Bruce King, Helmer’s director of financing. The company’s decision to stay in Noblesville centered on the good location for its employees and the city’s competitive financing package.
The new corporate headquarters will be 68,000 square feet on 5.4 acres at Interstate 69 Exit 10, and it will be used for office and warehouse space. It will have 112 employees initially, and about 29 more will be added by the end of 2008.
