Tile, perfume maker moves into Twoson

MUNCIE — Nearly two years after officials announced a Turkish company would make roofing tiles in the former Twoson Tool building, a Turkish businessman — now working on his own, rather than with investors — is trying to start up two new businesses in the building.

Tiles and perfume would be made in the building, officials said Thursday. Terry Murphy of the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance told The Star Press that the new development springs from a November 2011 announcement that Erdal Cakici’s Kermit USA would employ 70 people making roofing tiles in the building.

The Star Press subsequently reported that the project as announced was in doubt and that investors had changed.

After Thursday’s meeting of the Delaware County Redevelopment Commission, Murphy confirmed to The Star Press that the scope and backing for the project had changed.

“He is the single investor now,” Murphy said about Cakici. “This is a scaled-down version. It had been $12 million investment and 75 jobs, now it is a $6 million investment and 36 jobs over six years.”

During the commission meeting, officials heard that Cakici’s project “was moving quicker.”

“Last Friday, their equipment showed up at the building, along with huge cases of perfume bottles,” Murphy said.

The commission started a process to begin repairs and updates to the building that had already been planned for Gary Dannar, a South Carolina businessman who said he plans to build mobile power generating vehicles in the building, employing nearly 500 people within several years.

Meanwhile, space in the building could someday be at a premium; in recent days, local emergency services had to move equipment to another part of the building and might ultimately be out altogether.

Murphy said local emergency services could continue to use the middle section of the building for storage of items that had been stored in the portion now occupied by Cakici.

But ultimately, Murphy said, the emergency services’ storage space could be used by Dannar.

“They can stay there until one of these businesses grows enough,” Murphy said. “Dannar has an agreement to expand into the middle section.”

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