MIDDLETOWN — The city is considered the top site for a steel tubing manufacturer wanting to open a new facility that could lead to 200 new jobs in the next decade, company officials say.

And Middletown’s rich manufacturing history and the presence of AK Steel are two reasons why the city is the most likely location for a new plant for Metal-Matic, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of welded, cold-drawn steel tubing for the automotive, agricultural, construction and recreational industries.

“That brings one more steel supplier into our arsenal,” said Metal-Matic Chief Financial Officer Thomas Jackson of AK Steel.

Metal-Matic, which already has three steel suppliers, is considering a site in northern Indiana because it is the “true geographic center” of the company’s supplier and customer base. However, AK Steel makes Middletown more attractive despite being slightly out of the company’s target area. Locating elsewhere, shipping product would be too costly to consider using AK Steel, Jackson said.

The company employs 619 in its other facilities in Minnesota and Illinois.

The city has offered a seven-year tax incentive worth an estimated $254,000 to the 61-year-old company. The company has yet to make a final decision, but Jackson said Tuesday officials are “days away” from signing a purchase agreement for the 245,000-square-foot former Misa Metals Building in the MADE Industrial Park, 1701 Yankee Road.

The Misa plant closed in May and more than 100 employees lost their jobs.

“We’ve known for the last three to four years we needed more capacity,” said Robert Baldauff, Metal-Matic’s vice president of operations. “The building seems pretty close to ideal and there’s a lot of willing and able workers around.”

Jackson said the company became interested in the property about six months ago and is about “90 percent” certain Middletown will be the company’s newest location.

“The primary reason is just location, relative to our suppliers and customers,” Jackson said. “We’re located in Chicago and Minneapolis, but most of our suppliers and customers are located in the Rust Belt area.”

The city granted a Job Creation Incentive Grant that will provide the seven-year grant, which is a 45 percent tax abatement, as long as the company creates 60 to 65 jobs between 2013 to 2015.

In addition to that grant, JobsOhio — the nonprofit formed this year under the direction of Gov. John Kasich to focus on job creation — is also working on an incentive package, but officials would not provide details.

The company is proposing to start with 15 to 20 employees this summer, and add about 15 a year until it reaches around 200 employees, Jackson said. Non-salaried employees are projected to earn on average $18 to $20 an hour. Salaried employees are projected to earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year. Within three years, the company plans to be operating three shifts over a 24-hour period.

The company would invest $4 million in the building and $500,000 in additional improvements, according to city records. The company told Middletown officials it would add $4 million in manufacturing equipment with additional equipment estimated at between $4 million to $6 million over the next five years.

The former Misa building is “extraordinary large” and meets all the company’s requirements, Jackson said.

“Any time you get a company from outside the state talking about starting their first facility in Ohio in Middletown, that’s a good thing,” said Denise Hamet, Middletown acting economic development director.

The company has also been considering other facilities in the Midwest, Jackson and Baldauff said, including Ramsey, Minn.; Baldwin, Wis.; LaPorte, Ind.; and a few locations around Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Once the purchase agreement is signed, the company will go through due diligence measures, such as evaluating environmental concerns, Jackson said.

“Unless something really nasty comes up, it’s very likely its going to go through,” Jackson said of the purchase of the building.

About half of Metal-Matic’s customer base is the automotive industry, Baldauff said, and the company’s growth is likely due to that business.

Reporter Chelsey Levingston contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com.