(LaPorte, IN) - A manufacturing firm is bringing up to 350 jobs to LaPorte County.

 

Corsicana Mattress Company based in Dallas, Texas will operate a 165,000 square foot assembly plant inside a manufacturing building vacant for more than 20-years along Indiana 2 between LaPorte and Westville.

 

James Booth, chief operating officer for the company, said the goal is to start operating at the site with about 60 workers by the end of the year.

 

Close to 300 more workers are expected to be added by the end of 2023.

 

The LaPorte County Council during a special meeting Tuesday gave preliminary approval to creating an Economic Revitalization Area for the company.

 

Final approval of the ERA making the company eligible to seek a 10-year tax abatement on its projected $8.6 million investment is expected at the September 28 meeting of the council.

 

Booth said Corsicana Mattress Company employing about 950 people in the U.S. presently has eight other locations in Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, Washington, Connecticut and Illinois

 

He said an increase in sales and need to have an assembly plant closer to its Midwest customer base to provide for same day shipping created the need for the expansion.

“We’ve had a very successful year,” he said.

 

Corsicana Mattress founded in 1971 is listed by Furniture Today as among the ten largest mattress producers in the U.S.

 

Tony Rodriguez, executive director of the LaPorte County Office of Economic and Community Development, said the average worker salary will be about $15 per hour.

 

“These are meat and potatoes type jobs that offer health care benefits,” he said.

 

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation is offering up to $2.3 million in tax credits based conditional on job creation.