Millerton greets ITW expansion, with 25 jobs

LAKEVILLE — An international business is expanding — not here, but in Millerton, where it plans to create some 25 new jobs. Millerton village Trustee Jay Reynolds credited the work of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corp. (DCEDC) with brokering the deal.“Anytime jobs come to a community, it’s great for the business environment. New jobs are the lifeblood of the community,” Reynolds said.ITW stands for Illinois Tool Works, Inc. According to its website, it is a “plastic custom molder for precision and micro precision plastic compounds.” The company has a plant in Lakeville. According to a release from DCEDC, ITW has “825 decentralized business units that comprise their international business corporation and are located in 52 countries and employ approximately 60,000 men and women.” It is on the New York Stock Exchange as ITW.The ITW Deltar division has leased a 25,000-square-foot space at Arnoff Moving and Storage in Millerton. Arnoff renovated its facilities in 2005, when it moved its central operations from Lakeville to Millerton. The ITW division that is moving to Millerton will produce “seating components for the automotive industry,” according to the release.“Arnoff’s goal has always been to attract industry and jobs to this most northeastern corner of Dutchess County,” Mike Arnoff said about the arrangement. “This is a win-win situation for ITW, Dutchess County and New York state.”According to Reynolds, Arnoff originally tried courting the Skip Barber driving school. When Barber decided not to take the space at Arnoff’s, the DCEDC helped negotiate on behalf of ITW, which had been looking for space to rent. Gordon Rutherfurd, director of business for DCEDC, said it worked closely with Elyse Harney Real Estate and Arnoff.Reynolds said the result is that Millerton comes out a winner. “It’s very special, because the opportunity for drawing something like this is very limited because we don’t have the buildings with this kind of space really,” he said. Bill Thurston, business manager of ITW Deltar, said he’s “pleased” about the expansion as well as being able “to provide the opportunity for additional jobs in Dutchess County.”ITW will maintain its presence in Lakeville.