Home » Five companies approved for economic development incentives in Louisville

Five companies approved for economic development incentives in Louisville

Projects would create 157 new jobs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (July 25, 2013) — Five companies were preliminarily approved today for economic development incentives in Louisville by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA).  The projects would create 157 new jobs, nearly $34.4 million in new annual payroll and more than $65.5 million in new investment.

“It is exciting that such a diverse group of companies have elected to move and expand in Louisville,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “From advanced manufacturing to logistics to finance, Louisville has consistently proven that it has the talent and resources to meet the needs of successful and up and coming companies with developing needs for good jobs and investment capital, both of which reward our community with a healthy and vibrant local economy.”

Certi-Cell USA, LLC

A division of Greenstream International based out of Austin Texas, Certi-Cell USA LLC specializes in the processing and redistribution of cellular handsets. Certi-Cell’s range of activities includes repair, data clearing and redistribution of mobile handsets worldwide. Based on Greenstream’s model of employing over 150 people in its facilities in Austin and Dallas, Certi-Cell began operations in Louisville in April of this year with 10 employees, a number which is expected to grow to more than 100 highly skilled technicians who can perform board level repair and are familiar with hand held electronic devices. To accommodate both customer demand and the increase in high-tech jobs, Certi-Cell’s plans also call for expanding facility space and production capabilities as the company continues to develop and grow.

Within the first two years of operation, Certi-Cell is considering a total investment of $1.85 million in building materials and capital equipment. Certi-Cell also anticipates the addition of 90 jobs with a total payroll of more than $31 million by mid-2015.

Certi-Cell was preliminarily approved for up to $950,000 in Kentucky business incentives for up to 10 years.

Clariant Corp.

Clariant Corp. is a Swiss-owned specialty chemicals company with North America headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. The highly diversified corporation provides solutions for businesses in the areas of: care chemicals; catalysis and energy; natural resources; and plastics and coatings. Its Catalysts Business Unit produces industrial catalysts used by the chemical and petrochemical industries.

The company plans to increase the production capacity in one of its catalyst production lines by designing and building a new manufacturing facility that could potentially be located in Louisville.  The proposed facility will be built with state-of-the-art process and safety controls.

If a Louisville site is selected, it is expected that within the first two years of operation, Clariant would invest more than $50 million in building materials and capital equipment. The project would create 27 jobs with a total payroll of $1.35 million by mid-2015.

Clariant was preliminarily approved for $500,000 in Kentucky business incentives for up to 10 years and a KEIA sales tax rebate of $500,000.

Park Community Federal Credit Union

Park Community Federal Credit Union was established in 1965 to serve the employees of General Electric’s Appliance Park in Louisville.  As Park Community continued to grow over the years, its services extended to GE employees in other states as well as to more than 500 select employment groups throughout Kentucky. In 2003, Park became a community-chartered credit union, opening its doors to those who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in the nine county Louisville metro area. Park also has branch locations in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region and in Decatur, Ala.

Continued growth and expansion has necessitated Park Community’s need for the construction of a new corporate administration building.  This building would consolidate under one roof existing employees and will allow space for new positions created to further fuel projected growth. Within the first two years of operation, Park Community would make a major investment in this new corporate administration building. In addition, the organization plans to add 20 new jobs with a total payroll of more than $900,000 by mid-2015.

Park Community Federal Credit Union was approved for up to $160,000 in Kentucky business incentives for up to 10 years.

Westport Fuel Systems Inc.

Westport Fuel Systems is a leading global supplier of proprietary technology that allows engines to operate on clean-burning gaseous fuels such as compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and bio-methane. Westport Fuel moved to Louisville over a year ago to open a compressed natural gas retrofit facility. The company is an approved Ford aftermarket supplier that turns stock F-250 and F-350 trucks into fleet vehicles which run on compressed natural gas.

The company’s success in the Louisville community has caused it to consider expanding its operations here with the installation of a liquefied natural gas production line in its current facility to help increase the company’s product offering which will add new jobs to the area.

Within the first two years of operation, Westport Fuel plans a total investment of $3.8 million in building materials and capital equipment. The project would add 20 new jobs with a total payroll of $619,840 by mid-2015.

Westport Fuel Systems, Inc. was approved for up to $225,000 in Kentucky business incentives for up to 10 years and KEIA sales tax rebate of $25,000.

In addition to the four projects outlined above, Clarendon Flavors was approved for a KEIA sales tax rebate of $40,000 at today’s KEDFA meeting.

The partnership between Greater Louisville Inc. – The Metro Chamber of Commerce, Louisville Metro Government and state government brings new economic opportunities to the community. Through June 2013, this innovative public-private partnership has helped 34 companies locate new operations or expand existing ones in the area. These projects have created 2,173 new jobs at an average salary of $46,053 and more than $245 million in new capital investment.