Antares Trailers to Create 40 More Jobs in Pulaski County

  
 
A Texas-based supplier of flatbed trailer and intermodal chassis equipment has announced plans to locate its Midwest hub in Pulaski County, creating more than 40 new jobs for the county by 2017. The Houston, Texas-based company will lease, renovate and equip a 50,000 square-foot building in Winamac. The facility, which will be operational by March, will allow the company to begin assembling composite flatbed and drop deck trailers for its dealers by April.

Nathan Origer, executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission, said they are very excited about the economic boost the business will bring.

“We have one of the lower unemployment rates in the state, and especially in northwest Indiana, and we are really seeing our number of unemployed people start to dwindle, and this is going to have a pretty decent impact on it – not a huge one – but it’s certainly going to have a measurable effect with the forty-plus jobs that they are anticipating over the next couple of years and we are very excited about that,” said Origer.

In addition to bringing new jobs to the county, Origer said it could have a larger effect as well, boosting the area investment into training programs. The company is looking for general assembly workers and welders, and while that will create even more competition for welders, he’s hoping it will spur more interest in that labor pool.

“I’m hopeful that it will help us to improve that labor pool, to spur continued investment into local and regional training programs like the one we’ve done here with our extension office and the SCILL program, and we’ll kind of go from there,” Origer said.

Antares plans to begin hiring general assembly and welder positions immediately. Interested applicants may apply by emailing their information to careers@antaresequipment.com.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Antares Trailer, LLC up to $225,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The town of Winamac approved additional incentives at the request of Pulaski County Economic Development.