FALCONER — The proposed acquisition of a vacant manufacturing plant in the village could help a German-headquartered business expand its operations in the United States.

An application for financial assistance by a Western New York developer has further detailed plans for re-use of the former Truck-Lite property at 310 E. Elmwood Ave.

The Krog Group is seeking a 15-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement and other financial incentives in its $3.3 million purchase and renovation of the 160,000-square-foot plant. Truck-Lite Co., which moved its remaining employees from Falconer to Pennsylvania, still owns the facility on 27 total acres of land.

As first reported in January by The Post-Journal, ND PressTec has been eyeing Falconer to establish a local presence and expand operations in the U.S. The company produces bullet and case cups for all common calibers.

In its publicly-available application with the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency for financial assistance, the Krog Group noted: “The purpose of the proposed project is to acquire the existing building for the proposed tenant (ND PressTec US). The acquisition of this building will allow the tenant to expand their US operations.

“The tenant will be able to redeploy capital that was originally allocated to the building acquisition to now be used to purchase additional equipment to further expand their production capacity.”

If successful, the Krog Group said it will hold the real estate and act as a landlord for the property. ND PressTec is proposed to be the sole tenant inside the plant.

In its application, the Krog Group said work on the facility was expected to begin “some time during (the second quarter) of 2023” and that operations also would commence this year.

A public hearing regarding the project and request for county IDA assistance will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 22, at the Falconer Community Building, 101 W. Main St.

According to its website, ND PressTec is a leading partner for ammunition manufacturing for small and medium calibers. The company is based in Germany and is currently under ownership of the NAMMO Group.

A NAMMO Group spokesperson was contacted last week regarding the project and plans for the Falconer plant. As of early this week, no further information was available.

Meanwhile, the Krog Group is based in Orchard Park and does construction and real estate development. Their website lists 11 properties in Western New York with space available for commercial/retail, offices, and industrial/distribution. None of the properties are in Chautauqua County, but they do have properties available in Olean and Ashford, both in Cattaraugus County. Other Western New York properties are in Erie and Wyoming counties.

The county IDA recently agreed to move ahead and start the process for a tax agreement with the Krog Group. Chautauqua County had listed the total assessed value of the former Truck-Lite plant at $2.35 million.

Gregory Bacon contributed to this story.

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