Auto Parkit Announces Project, Seeks Incentives

WARREN, Ohio – Auto Parkit LLC, a Los Angeles company specializing in the design, manufacturing and construction of fully automated parking structures, today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility that formerly housed Delphi Packard Electric Co.

The purchase results from what the company said is “an escalating worldwide demand for Auto Parkit’s automated systems.” The company said it plans to “significantly increase production and warehousing capacity while continuing to improve operational efficiencies.”

Said the company’s president and founder, Christopher Alan, in a prepared statement, “We currently manufacture at smaller facilities in four different states and have been looking for an opportunity to consolidate into a substantially larger location that we can develop into a state-of-the-art design, engineering and manufacturing facility that will allow for growth.”

Alan would only say the total dollar investment would be in “millions double digits,” and he emphasized the project is contingent on how much governmental assistance the company can secure. Total new jobs would from 250 to 300 in the next few years, perhaps to as many as 1,000 further down the road.

Auto Parkit subsystems are manufactured off-site and transferred to the project location during the construction phase where they are immediately erected. “The unique process we have developed has helped push our business to new levels,” Alan said.

The former Packard plant provides ample rail spurs and close proximity to steel producers, the CEO noted.

“The current state of the facility has deteriorated dramatically, which represents a significant risk to our company,” he continued. “Without support from the city of Warren and Mayor Doug Franklin, the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp., the Western Reserve Port Authority, JobsOhio, the Trumbull County Planning Commission and the Ohio Rail Commission, we could never entertain the notion of locating our future operations to Warren.

Alan said he has met with all the entities he cited. “Their response has been encouraging and we remain cautiously optimistic about the next step. Let me be clear, this project is subject to securing and approval of all needed and application governmental assistance,” he said.

Pictured: Christopher Alan, CEO of Auto Parkit LLC.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.