Work to refashion the former Delphi Building 21 into a new state-of-the-art manufacturing company is moving right along, an official said this week.

Kerrick Whisenant, vice president of Cornerstone Detention Products, said some site demolition and clearing of the property is underway, and more is slated to begin in about a week and a half. He said passers-by would soon be able to see a noticeable difference to the exterior of the long-shuttered plant.

The site, located just south of the Robotics Technology Park on U.S. 31, will eventually be home to Claborn Manufacturing Alabama. It will employ 115 people when it begins production in late 2019.

The 300,000-square-foot plant will manufacture security hollow metal doors, frames and windows used in prison and jail security. The company also manufactures furniture and various types of wall partitions to be used in jail and prison construction and renovations.

Claborn’s current manufacturing plant is in the former Slate Security building in Hartselle.

“Expanding our manufacturing is particularly exciting,” said Mitch Claborn, owner and chief executive officer of Claborn Manufacturing, in a press release. “… I want to invest in a high-tech plant that reflects our quality and commitment in becoming the nation’s premier security hollow metal manufacturer. We are installing robotic and laser equipment that no one else in our industry utilizes and are excited about the future manufacturing possibilities that this will create.”

In December, the Limestone County Commission approved just short of $1 million in tax abatements for the project. The 10-year agreement abated $635,380 in property taxes and $316,400 in construction-related sales taxes.

The project would generate $173,200 in sales tax for Limestone County Schools. New property taxes for Limestone County Schools are estimated at $48,587 per year for a total of $485,870 over 10 years.

Whisenant said there were several factors that made the former Delphi building attractive, including the fact it was built and vacant. The plant’s proximity to the RTP and Calhoun Community College also made it attractive, given the high-tech nature of the work to be performed there.

“It will be new high-end and technology-driven robotic manufacturing processes. We need the workforce to be able to respond to that,” he said. “A company’s only as good as its people, so we feel like we can draw from the technical expertise in Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties.”

A request for proposals have been issued for contractors interested in whipping the building into shape. Whisenant said proposals will be due back in six to eight weeks, which allow officials to hammer out a construction schedule.

“That will help us determine when we’re able to go live and have our equipment installed and working,” he said.

Because the former Building 21 was part of a larger plant, Whisenant said it would take a little while to rebuild the utility infrastructure.

“We’re having to construct that from scratch,” he said. “Luckily, Athens Utilities and Limestone County Water & Sewer have been nothing but helpful. Everybody’s standing on ready.”

Whisenant anticipated the first jobs would be posted by Alabama Industrial Development Training in June. Officials recently met with AIDT officials and they’re in the early stages of formulating job descriptions.

“We want to hire people and do the training so they’re ready to work on the machines,” he said, adding they would be high-paying jobs. “We don’t want to lose the quality of training by (hiring) too early.”