As things stop falling apart for auto industry, Precision Gage hires

Home News As things stop falling apart for auto industry, Precision Gage hires

The Hillsdale City Council approved an industrial facilities tax for Precision Gage, Inc. at the March 5 council meeting.

The partial personal property tax exemption, should the state approve it, will exempt Precision Gage of more than $180,000 in taxes over the next 12 years. In total, the city of Hillsdale will lose a little more than $55,000 in tax revenue over that time period.

“This project [the Bose building] will allow the industry to be competitive in this location and therefore retain 53 positions and create about three more within our jurisdiction over the next two years,” said City Assessor Debra Sikorski, in a letter to the council recommending the tax exemption.

Precision Gage, located in the Hillsdale Industrial Park, is owned by local resident John Spratt. Spratt founded the company in 1981 and is currently the president and owner.

The company recently purchased the factory directly adjacent to its main building. The new factory, “Building No. 2,” was previously owned by Bose Corporation.

In total, Precision Gage invested more than $2 million in the building, which included the purchase of the building, new production lines, the replacement of lights and air conditioners, and the addition of a pickup area for iron waste.

When the company started, it produced a variety of gauges and fixtures. But after Precision Gage purchased its first Computerized Numerical Control lathe, the factory began producing what currently constitutes the majority of its production: crankshaft dampers.

“[The CNC lathe] made a lot of babies, so to speak,” Spratt said.

Precision Gage’s lathes, in addition to the dampers, are also producing medical prosthetics.

During the 2008 recession, Precision Gage went from 60 employees down to 27, Spratt said.

Along with the rest of the automotive industry, the company has recovered in the last few years and now employs 56 people. The investment in a second building has resulted in two hires already and Spratt said more are likely.

“As longs as the economy keeps going the ways it is, and auto sales stay as they are, we’ll add six jobs,” he said.

Spratt said Precision Gage will most likely hire in June and August, and he hopes that by December the factory will be operating at full capacity.