Racine Railroad Products to Relocate to Mount Pleasant, Add Jobs

Mount Pleasant officials Thursday paved the way for Racine Railroad Products Inc. to relocate to Mount Pleasant and expand its operations — a move that could create 26 new jobs by mid-2015.

As part of the agreement, Racine Railroad will move into the now vacant ProBuild Center at 1955 Norwood Ct. and will leave its current location at 1524 Frederick St. in Racine. The Village Board agreed Thursday to provide a $300,000 tax break as an incentive for the company to relocate.

The deal was developed through modification of a previous agreement between  ProBuild and the state Department of Transportation. The DOT agreed to install a railroad spur and ProBuild, which is no longer in Racine County, agreed to add 66 new jobs.

In the modified agreement, the DOT will count the 40 existing employees Racine Railroad is bringing to its new location and the company is expected to create 26 new jobs.

When asked if Racine Railroad will have any problems meeting that job growth, company President Stephen Birkholz said there are other factors at play, but meeting that goal is certainly possible.

"A lot of those factors will be dependent on the overall general economy,” Birkholz said. “We’ve got some projects on the table right now at Racine Railroad Products that always will lend itself to continued growth. … It’s certainly a realistic possibility.”

Community Development Coordinator Logan Martin said assistance from the village will come in the form of tax reinvestment, which essentially involves “cutting a check” back to the company after it pays its property taxes. The $300,000 tax break will be spread out over a 10-year period.

Birkholz said Racine Railroad Products, which manufactures railroad maintenance equipment, is also an indirect regional employer, as it assembles parts produced by subcontractors elsewhere in the area.

Racine Railroad is purchasing the property for $2.6 million, Martin said. The plan also involves an expansion of the roughly 83,000-square-foot Mount Pleasant facility, which will gain 4,600 square feet and a new loading dock. The total cost of the project is about $5 million, the Racine Journal Times reports.

“It was a no-nonsense, very cooperative effort on everyone’s part,” Birkholz said. “I was very impressed at how business and government could work together. This is a very good example of that.”