Council approves abatement transfer, new investment

United Pipe & Steel Corp. is in the process of buying this building at 6520 N. County Road 1000E in the Eastside Industrial Park in Seymour.

Zach Spicer | The Tribune

Seymour’s newest corporate citizen was introduced during the recent city council meeting.

The seven-member council unanimously approved a tax abatement transfer, a statement of benefits for new investment and resolutions for both presented by United Pipe & Steel Corp.

The Ipswich, Massachusetts-based company is in the process of buying the 60,000-square-foot building at 6520 N. County Road 1000E in the Eastside Industrial Park from Old Towne Marketplace II LLC of Kansas City, Missouri. The sale is scheduled to occur in July, according to a letter from Tony Ward with Old Towne.

Once the sale occurs, Old Towne’s remaining tax abatement will be transferred to United Pipe & Steel.

Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., spoke on behalf of both companies during Monday night’s council meeting at city hall. Bob Martinolli, vice president of operations for United Pipe & Steel, attended virtually.

Plump said an abatement was granted to TDAK Development Inc. of Seymour in April 2020 to construct a spec building on 8.34 acres. That was completed by the end of that year.

Old Towne purchased the building in 2022, and the city council approved a $2.5 million tax abatement request in April that year. Plump said he’s not aware of any type of business running out of the building other than a very short-term lease for storage.

Plump said United Pipe & Steel is relocating its Indiana operation to Seymour to acquire more space. According to unitedpipe.com, the only Indiana location is Franklin, while others are in Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and California (two).

The company says these 12 pipe and tube product distribution centers are strategically located to provide reliable delivery and will-call access across the United States.

Deliveries are made by the company’s own fleet of flatbed tractor-trailers driven by its own employees.

“Each of our distribution centers carry all of our products with copper tube and domestic steel stored indoors,” the website states. “Our pipe-handling experts pick product carefully and accurately to ensure accurate deliveries that save you time and hassle.”

United Pipe & Steel became part of the Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. family of companies in 2021 and is the largest master distributor of pipe and tube products in the United States, according to its website.

As part of its statement of benefits for relocating to Seymour, United Pipe & Steel is planning approximately $4 million in improvements to the building that would include construction of offices inside the facility and later this year or into next year expanding the building to the east by about 30,800 square feet, Plump said.

The company estimates having nine employees with combined salaries of $522,750.

One of the resolutions approved by the council was for a 10-year tax abatement on the $4 million real estate investment. A tax abatement is a 10-year period where companies pay 10% more on taxes each consecutive year. They do not pay any taxes on the first year.