A new economic development-focused alliance in Elmore County is funding the construction of a $700,000 warehouse facility that will permit the county’s largest manufacturer, GKN Aerospace, to open up critical manufacturing floor space for new projects.

The 20,000-square-foot storage depot in Tallassee is the first project launched by the Elmore County Industrial Development Authority, a strategic alliance that links the county’s primary economic development agency with key community governments to create a single entity to advance industrial projects.

“GKN is proud of our industrial partnership with Elmore County,” said Matt Burke, vice president and general manager of the GKN Aerospace Tallassee facility. “This project will allow us to advance the capability of our facility and foster our relationship in the community.”

“We are excited to have a new, forward-thinking commission that truly understands economic development and the impact that companies like GKN make on the county,” said Leisa Finley, executive director of the Elmore County Economic Development Authority. “We are proud to have GKN as a corporate partner and look forward to assisting them by utilizing the resources the new IDA offers.”

Vital need

Finley said the storage depot project serves a vital community need by enabling GKN’s Alabama operation to move forward with potential projects in the near term.GKN Aerospace’s Tallassee facility, about 35 miles from Montgomery, has been in operation since 1985 and today employs 800 people. The Alabama plant boasts 380,000 square feet of manufacturing space and works with industry partners such as Sikorsky, Airbus, Bell Helicopter, HondaJet, GE and Lockheed Martin.

Community partners behind the formation of the Elmore County IDA are the city of Tallassee, Elmore County Commission and the Elmore County EDA.

This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.