CUYAHOGA FALLS: Falls Council on Monday approved a tax break for a Marc Road factory partially destroyed by fire in December.
Judson Waters, director of operations for Technicote, Inc., told Council last week that the company is planning a 45,000 square foot expansion.
About a dozen employees are expected to be added in the next two years.
Technicote will pay only 50 percent of the property tax assessed for 15 years. That translates to a savings of about $35,000 annually.
Even with the tax abatement, Woodridge Schools will receive more in property taxes once the construction is complete than they are receiving from the company now, according to Assistant Director of Development Jennifer Syx.
On December 16, firefighters were called to the factory at 3:49 a.m. By dawn, thick, black smoke from the factory could be seen for miles.
When Waters arrived on the scene around 11 a.m., firefighters were still spraying the smoldering building.
After it was extinguished, some of the employees stayed to clean up while most were sent to work in the Indiana plant.
Waters said there was talk of closing the plant, but that changed when he saw the dedication of the employees and the eagerness of city officials to help the company rebuild.
The company has been a Cuyahoga Falls fixture for 30 years.
