Thompson Announces U.S. Department of Commerce Grant of $457,500 to Mifflin County Industrial Development Authority

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, today announced the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $457,500 grant to the Mifflin County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA) for improvements at the MCIDC Plaza.

“These funds will mean jobs to the Lewistown area. They will allow an existing tenant, Kardex USA, to expand production, hire additional employees, and begin exporting its products abroad,” said Thompson. “The money comes from the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Community Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, which is designed to increase competition and create jobs to bolster the local economy.”

There are 23 small and medium-sized companies in the Plaza located near Lewistown in Granville Township. The funds may protect 50 existing jobs and produce 50 new jobs at Kardex USA and benefit other Plaza employees.

Kardex manufactures machinery for logistics and material retrieving systems. Its products are sold throughout the world to defense contractors, distribution companies, medical laboratories, and libraries.

Gary Oden, Chairman of the Mifflin County Industrial Development Corporation, MCIDC, said, “The Plaza has been a source of employment for years. We appreciate the EDA support that will allow us to continue to improve the Plaza for new and expanding employers.”

Final engineering for the project will continue until about the end of 2010. According to Oden, construction on the improvements should begin in the Spring of 2011. MCIDC is contributing $152,000 to be combined with the EDA grant.

Chairman of MCIDA Wes Wallace commented, “The Mifflin County Commissioners supported the project from the beginning. Everybody deserves credit for pulling this together.”

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