Manufacturer Expanding in Whitley County 7/10/2017 COLUMBIA CITY - Illinois-based Warner Electric LLC has announced plans to grow its Whitley County operations. Financial details of the expansion were not disclosed, however the Whitley County Economic Development Corp. says the manufacturer will add new equipment at its Columbia City facility and add jobs. The company did not specify the number of jobs that will be created with this latest investment. A subsidiary of Massachusetts-based Altra Industrial Motion Corp., Warner Electric manufactures clutch and brake solutions, as well as components for a variety of markets, including turf and garden equipment, agriculture equipment, and material handling. "Columbia City continues to be a strategic and high-performance operation in our North American business," said David Ebling, president of Altra Industrial Motion’s electromagnetic clutch brake division. "We have an outstanding workforce in Whitley County. Our team consistently strives to improve product quality, productivity, and responsiveness to the needs of our customers. We are pleased to make this investment giving our team new tools to perform at an even higher level." The Whitley County EDC says the investment will include new CNC machinery and assembly equipment to increase Warner's manufacturing capacity and efficiency. The company currently employs more than 200 in Columbia City. The Whitley County Council has approved a 10-year tax abatement for the expansion. Three years ago, Warner Electric announced a $2 million investment to move some of its Illinois operations to Columbia City and add 20 jobs. - Source: Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership; http://neindiana.com