Mercedes plans tests at Sawyer
Mercedes plans tests at Sawyer
By CHRISTOPHER DIEM, Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Sawyer International Airport will welcome a new tenant this summer.
Mercedes-Benz Technology, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG that develops and tests components and systems for vehicles and drive units, may begin leasing a hangar and 10 acres of space at the airport as early as July. The Marquette County Board of Commissioners discussed the license agreement at its board meeting Tuesday night.
According to Scott Erbisch, director of operations at Sawyer, MBtech will use the facility to test large military trucks.
“We understand it to be military vehicles that will be flown in. One of the core things that they’ll be looking at is testing the components that go into those vehicles,” Erbisch said.
The test vehicles will be stored in Hangar 400, located at the south end of the runway. Actual testing will be done on 10 acres of flat concrete pavement, south of the airport’s terminal. Erbisch said the use of that area will not interfere with air operations.
Chairman Gerald Corkin asked Erbisch how many people MBtech would be hiring at the proposed facility.
“Initially the numbers are pretty low, just a handful, probably less than 10,” Erbisch said. “If they are able to get the long term arrangement agreed upon, then they would eventually start out small and build their employee base out here. I don’t know what the long term numbers would be.”
Hangar 400 is a 20,736 square foot building and is currently vacant. In the past it has been used to store army helicopters.
The hangar will be leased at $2 per square foot, or $3,456 a month. The land will be leased at $1,200 per acre annually. MBtech will be responsible for janitorial services, snow removal, lawn care, etc.
County commissioners unanimously approved the lease agreement, which provides MBtech with a two-month license agreement. Erbisch said that long-term leases will be worked out.
“Telkite has been the lead in negotiation for Marquette County and done a great job in getting it to this point. MBtech is very interested in looking at longer-term options here,” he said.
Erbisch said the MBtech testing would be going on through all seasons. He did not know if MBtech would be utilizing the winter test track currently used by Delphi Automotive.
“The lease they’ve been discussing with us is outside of the track in use in the Delphi area. They still might need some winter testing that the Delphi site may provide and Delphi would be having those discussions with MBtech,” he said.
There is a provision in the county’s lease with Delphi that allows Delphi, with review and approval by the county, to potentially sub-lease its space.
“We’ve got the facilities and we’ve got the space. The more businesses that come in are going to see that it’s a wonderful place to set up shop and word of mouth is spreading,” said Commissioner Bob Struck.
Struck added that Sawyer could be used as an economic development area for the entire county.
“It’s great to have another paying, happy customer. We have neat facilities out there for this kind of operation and they recognize that,” said Commissioner Harvey Wallace.
Erbisch said the next step is to get the license completed, get MBtech’s operations started and continue with discussions for a long term arrangement. He said the initial license may be finalized within the next few weeks.
“They intend to be here in the first part of July. They’re very eager to get moving and get some testing under way,” he said.
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