Forman Glass to relocate production line to Southwest Michigan

Forman Glass to relocate production line to Southwest Michigan

COMSTOCK CHARTER TOWNSHIP — Forman Glass LLC, a glass and glazing company, is relocating production of its window and entrance frames from Ft. Wayne, Ind. to Southwest Michigan.

The company plans to invest almost $2 million into a new 25,200-square-foot facility in Kalamazoo County’s Comstock Charter Township to house warehousing, fabrication and office space, as well as add an expected 20 new jobs, according to a statement.

The Comstock-based Forman Glass, which serves residential and commercial uses, outgrew its Indiana facility and was looking to expand.

“The location of our fabricating facility in Comstock Township will allow us to be close to our customer base and to tap into the highly skilled workforce of Southwest Michigan,” Forman Glass President Richard Phillips said in a statement.

The company worked on the project with the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Kalamazoo-based Southwest Michigan First and the township.

The MEDC is supporting the company with a $100,000 performance-based grant via the Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP). The Michigan Strategic Fund approved the incentive under the Micro MBDP tool that focuses on encouraging businesses to add jobs in rural areas or regions with high unemployment. The Micro MBDP allows the state to give incentives to projects that would not normally qualify because they fail to meet the job creation requirements in the grant program, according to a statement.

“The decision by Forman Glass to expand its fabrication operations to Michigan rather than in another state further emphasizes the strength of Michigan’s business environment,” stated MEDC CEO Jeff Mason.