By Jens Dana
Deseret News
PROVO, Utah — Construction is officially under way for a $10 million manufacturing facility that Action Target executives are calling state-of-the-art.
The owners and employees of Action Target — a Provo-based business that builds shooting-range equipment for the military and police departments — broke ground Wednesday for a new 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at Mountain Vista Business Center.
Action Target founder and board member Kyle Bateman said the company has come a long way since he and a friend operated their fledgling business out of his bedroom more than 20 years ago.
“What a step up this building is,” he said.
Action Target is the first company to build in the city’s ambitious new 200-acre Mountain Vista Business Center. Provo gave Action Target a number of incentives to pack up its operations in west-central Provo and jump to the Mountain Vista project. Provo bought the company’s land for $2.65 million, and the city will pay $650,000 to move Action Target across town. It also agreed to sell the 10-acre parcel to Action Target for $1.1 million — $400,000 less than what the city believed the property is worth.
The company won’t have to pay for the land for 10 years, meaning Action Target got a 10-year, interest-free loan.
The city is also considering a resolution to issue $9 million in tax-exempt bonds on behalf of the company. The resolution has to go through one more public hearing to see whether it’s approved.
When the two-level facility is completed in spring 2009, it will boast 30,000 square feet of office space and 85,000 square feet for manufacturing, as well as a shooting range and lab.
Bateman said the facility will sport sophisticated manufacturing processes and automated storage systems. A computer system will dispatch automated forklifts along a wire guidance system throughout the warehouse. The wire system will allow the forklifts to quickly navigate the aisles without causing wrecks.
Bateman also said they had to import $250,000 in equipment from Germany to use in the warehouse.
“There’s a great future ahead for Action Target,” he said.
Bleecher Walker Architects designed the facility. It should be completed in 10 months, Bateman said.
Copyright 2008 Deseret News