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Thursday, October 06, 2005
By Nancy Stier
CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Traffic jams caused by Grand Haven's drawbridge are a factor which prompted a Grand Haven manufacturer to move to Norton Shores this year.
Snook Inc. makes air hoses used in a number of industries ranging from automotive and aircraft to farming and waste management. The firm was at 727 Park in Grand Haven, but was looking for a larger building north of the bridge with acreage on which it could expand, according to Snook President Jack DeHorn. He wanted easier access to a less congested highway.
Snook bought the former Conduflor building at 6430 Norton Center Drive and moved in last June after Conduflor moved into the former Meister's Hardware building on Airline Road. Snook invested about $250,000 in new equipment and another $40,000 in building modifications.
The firm's work force has since expanded from five full-time employees and three part-time to 16 full-time positions. DeHorn told the Norton Shores City Council Monday he hopes to get up to 24 full-time employees by year's end.
He hires through the Michigan Works program, which screens parolees from prisons and tries to find employment for those in need of jobs.
The new building is twice the size of what Snook occupied in Grand Haven. DeHorn said it's possible he may build an addition on his new plant a year from now, creating more jobs.
The Norton Shores City Council this week granted Snook a 50 percent property tax cut for 12 years on its investment, and allowed the firm to take advantage of the last year of a 12-year tax cut granted previously to Conduflor on the building.
"We don't necessarily recruit businesses from neighboring communities," Mayor Nancy Crandall told DeHorn. But she said it's nice to see the firm relocate in the city.
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