Elkhart County is “wheeling” and dealing to try and lure an electric car manufacturer to town.

Norwegian based company TH!NK is looking to build electric cars in the United States in 2010. TH!NK North America is seriously looking at a possible plant site north of Middlebury in Elkhart County.

“We’ve been in a competition with Oregon and Michigan for this, we thought we lost the company early on,” said Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder. “They were first here in January, February, and like 60-days ago they just showed up again looking at another building, so we had regained our hope we might have a shot.”

On Tuesday night, Elkhart’s County Council held a rare special meeting to consider a package of tax incentives designed to sweeten the deal.

“We really need to move very quickly and to make a decision and to begin the process of setting up manufacturing if we're going to begin selling cars, and building cars in the U.S. next year which is our plan,” TH!NK North America Communications Director Brendan Prebo.

At the meeting, TH!NK’s chief financial officer spoke to the council and answered questions about the car to be manufactured near Middlebury – an existing model that would be able to travel roughly 100 miles on one charge. The Elkhart County location would be the hub for TH!NK’s North American operations.

"It's a great day when senior officers of companies like this, international companies, come to Elkhart County, and help us rebuild,” said John Letherman, president of the Elkhart County Council.

Prebo says that TH!NK is still considering possible plant sites elsewhere, but he added that negotiations in Indiana have progressed further than they have elsewhere.

If Elkhart County does end up in the driver’s seat, the project would provide exactly what the hard hit area needs. “We’re getting 415 new jobs and these jobs will be base, will be 33-thousand dollars a year. There will be incentives and other benefits on top of that. Pretty decent,” said Commissioner Yoder.

TH!NK claims to be one of the few companies that has a “ready to market” fully electric vehicle.

In the mind of Commissioner Yoder, it’s TH!NK’s experience that separates it from Elkhart County’s electric vehicle upstart, Electric Motors Corporation in Wakarusa.

“Electric Motors Corporation was a new start up company that was an entrepreneurial effort, taking, looking at taking current technology and applying it differently,” said Commissioner Yoder. “TH!NK is an already existing car company. Cars are produced in Norway so these guys have already, are selling cars, producing cars and they’re just moving their production facility here to Elkhart County.”

In exchange for tax incentives, TH!NK pledges to create 415 full time jobs in Elkhart County by 2013.

Elkhart County is offering a 10-year personal property tax phase in worth about $552,400.00.

The plan also calls for using Recovery Zone Facility Bonds—a new tool created by the federal stimulus package.

Elkhart County would loan up to $5 million in bond proceeds to TH!NK to cover capital expenses associated with the project.

TH!NK would be responsible for retiring the principal and interest on the bonds.

The interest on the bonds would be at tax exempt interest rates.
The tax phase ins will be voted on at the county’s next scheduled meeting in January.