By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
“So when did you start?” Councilman Mat Dyer asked Keith Gerber, owner-operator of Hoosier Pattern during a recent city council meeting.
“In 1997,” Gerber replied.
“How many employees were there?” Dyer followed.
“Three … the three owners,” Gerber replied, with a smile.
“Did you ever envision this kind of growth?” Dyer continued.
“No,” Gerber said, again smiling. “I’ve had a good group.”
That exchange, highlighting the remarkable growth of one of Decatur’s leading businesses, came after council had approved a pair of tax abatements for Hoosier Pattern.
Gerber, now the sole owner of the company, began in a 3,500-square-foot building and today operates in a facility of 90,000 square feet on N,. 10th St.
And those three employee-owners have grown to 57 full-time employees, with the expectations of soon adding five more.
At a previous meeting, Gerber explained how he had spent $1.7 million for a pair of new sand printers, boosting the company’s total numbers to seven, the first having been added in 2013.
He said, too, that he thought the new additions would help land the business of “an aerospace customer.”
Sand printers have certainly played a major role in the growth of Hoosier Pattern. Gerber said the firm has over 200 customers to whom it is supplying sand-printer products. ”It’s 60% to 70% of my business,” he remarked.
At its latest meeting, council gave, through a declaratory resolution, approval to the tax abatements requested by Hoosier Pattern.
Getting the okay were a 10-year abatement on a $363,000 real property investment and a five-year abatement on a $2.357 million personal property investment.
With a 10-year abatement, no taxes are paid the first year, then a sliding scale kicks in: a 90% tax savings the second year, then 80% and so on through 10 years.
For a five-year abatement, the increments are 20% each year.
A sticking point over the abatement years requested that came up at the previous council meeting was easily resolved.
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