WANE - Jeremy Rohrs, Fort Wayne Metals President and CEO, said Wednesday the company planned to invest $18.5 million and add 150 Fort Wayne area jobs.

While the news was positive on its face, it might also carry another message: Fort Wayne Metals and its workers are staying put after being bought last week by Axel Johnson Inc. (AJI).

“The continuity to Fort Wayne was so important,” Rohrs told WANE 15, “…and that was absolutely part of what we structured the deal to be.”

Fort Wayne Metals has about 1,400 of its workers in Fort Wayne, making custom wire for everything from stents and surgical robots to aircraft and automobiles.

Rohrs said former owner Scott Glaze was looking for a company to join his succession plan, since Glaze’s daughters were not part of the business.

In AJI, Glaze found a family-owned investment group that has a track record of holding and growing companies.

“He needed to find somebody that can take us for the next 50 years,” said Rohrs. “AJI wants to know, how can we accelerate the growth of Fort Wayne?”

Rohrs pointed to another win for the region: AJI wants Fort Wayne Metals to continue to invest in its hometown, while Glaze has announced his foundation and development group also will make more investments in northeast Indiana.

“I love the Glaze family,” added Rohrs. “They’ve been amazing for Fort Wayne, and I wish them all the best.”

In 2020, the company created a new site at 6901 S. Hanna Street to connect good-paying jobs to Fort Wayne’s southeast side.