Wanda English Burnett, Editor

The bad news is Belletech Corp. of Indiana will not have trucks rolling out of its Versailles site this May as initially planned. The good news is they are still on tap to come to Versailles, it will just be about a six month delay.

Mark McIntyre, vice-president of Belletech said due to extreme economic pressures facing the automotive industry, their company has rescheduled its mass production date for the Versailles plant. Instead of the May deadline as proclaimed in earlier news articles, it is now January 2010. He said ideally construction at the industrial park will resume three months prior to start-up. Again, this depends largely on the speed of the automotive market recovery.

“We remain committed to this project, as it will play a crucial role in our strategic plans in serving the automotive industry in and around Indiana,” McIntyre told The Versailles Republican.

McIntyre further noted that resumes are kept on file for a limited period of time. To those interested in being employed at the Versailles site he said, “We recommend that you resubmit your resume no earlier than October 2009.”

Those interested in employment can go to the company’s website at Belletechcorp.com to download a copy of the application.

Applications will also be available when a temporary office is established in the local area. McIntyre said the public will be notified when the office is in place.

Belletech, the first company to announce they would be settling in the Versailles Industrial Park, is a supplier of automotive glass (windshields) to Honda of Greensburg. When the economy took a downturn, the automotive industry was hit hard, with Honda of Greensburg even halting some operations that has a trickle-down effect, Belletech being one of the companies effected.

The exciting news that Belletech was coming to Versailles was announced in the Osgood Journal on September 9, 2008. Governor Mitch Daniels made the official announcement of the Honda supplier’s move to Versailles that afternoon at the Versailles Industrial Park, located just south of Versailles.

According to Ripley Publishing Co. files, the initial plan was to hire about 50 associates with the hopes of employing double that amount as the company expanded. It was hoped that the hiring process would begin in March or April of 2009. That has been pushed back until October.

“We are still coming,” McIntyre told The Versailles Republican, adding, “it’s just later than we all would like.”