PatriotDavid Himburg, a general laborer with RTD Manufacturing, smoothes the corners of a mine roller bracket Friday morning at the company’s Jackson facility. A month after the city of Jackson granted RTD Manufacturing a special loan so it could begin work on a military contract, the shop floor is bustling with activity and its work force has nearly doubled.

The full-service machining shop was down to a dozen employees last year during the economic downturn, but had sought to diversify itself into defense work.

Late last year, RTD had a signed defense contract with the federal government, but could not convince its bank to loan money needed to purchase materials necessary to do the work.

Instead, the City Council approved a $100,000 loan using Community Development Block Grant funds so the company could get started and meet a pending deadline.

"That was absolutely critical," said Stephen Artz, vice president of operations for RTD.

Artz said since the company received the loan, it has hired 10 employees and is using a handful of local suppliers that have another 25 employees dedicated to work on the project.

"We've got our own supply chain right here in Jackson," said U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

Schauer toured the plant Friday and met with some employees that RTD hired recently to build the mine roller brackets.

The universal bracket is fitted onto the front of seven different military vehicles. Then, anything from a plow to a machine that exposes improvised explosive devices can be hooked on to it, Artz said.

RTD is shipping out 20 a week and has sent 80 so far, Artz said. The company has to ship out about 100 more by early March.

Once they leave RTD, 1150 S. Elm St., the brackets are loaded onto a plane and flown directly into war zones. The 900-pound wooden crates that Schauer inspected Friday afternoon were on their way to a base in Afghanistan.

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