Canada-based roofing manufacturer IKO has purchased property in Clay County, Fla., to build a $270 million plant that will produce shingles, insulation boards and commercial roll roofing products.
As reported in the Jacksonville Daily Record, IKO South Inc. paid $5.26 million in April for 80 acres in Clay County, where it will build three plants totaling more than 650,000 square feet of space.
John Anhang, IKO Industries director of special projects, said the initial plant investment of $160 million will create 60 to 80 jobs. The second factory for insulation boards will be $65 million and 20 jobs, and a third investment of $45 million will establish a factory for rolled roofing and underlayment products.
Anhang told the Clay County Board of Commissioners the $270 million investment will create 100 jobs, and will increase to 120 with a third shift and possibly to 140 with a fourth shift. The aim is to have building permits in hand by July to start site preparation in the fall.
“We have a three-year timeline to build all those three plants,” he told commissioners at a May 9 meeting of the commissioners.
IKO anticipates the new shingle plant will begin operations in the first half of 2025, the ISO plant in the second half of 2025, and the rolled roofing plant in the first half of 2026. IKO has closed two plants in the past decade due to being 60 to 70 years old.
The jobs created by the project include skilled trades, engineers, machine operators, clerical and technical roles as well as forklift operators and warehouse staff.
IKO Corporate Communications Manager Derek Fee told the Jacksonville Daily Record that the location is able to support IKO’s customer base, including those in other locations.
“It’s also in reasonably close proximity to the $363 million investments in our fiberglass operations we recently announced in South Carolina, which will help support this new Florida facility,” he said.
The Clay County Board of Commissioners sweetened the pot, voting 3-2 on May 9 to exempt IKO from paying the project's full mobility fee. This fee is collected for all new development to fund the construction of necessary road improvements attributable to growth, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Last November, commissioners unanimously approved of an incentives award for IKO to develop a manufacturing complex off U.S. 301. Called Project Gator, the plan at the time called for a $219 million plant. The investment increased between then and the May 9 meeting.
The board of commissioners voted in November to approve of an economic development grant and a tangible personal property capital investment grant, which could total more than $1.72 million.
