Windsor approves incentives for companies O-I Glass, Microvast
The Windsor Town Board on Monday approved separate incentive packages to attract and retain two primary employers and create up to 50 new jobs.
Board members voted unanimously to approve 50% personal property tax rebates for O-I Glass, an existing company that wants to renovate and modernize much of its equipment, and Microvast Energy LLC, a lithium-ion battery solutions manufacturer that purchased the former Hexcel building at 31815 Great Western Drive for $11 million.
In addition to buying the building, Microvast said in documents provided to the town that it would invest another $6.5 million in equipment.
The 99,000-square-foot building was once home to Hexcel, whose largest customer was Vestas Wind Blade. It has been vacant since the company closed its doors in November 2020 amid a dip in the wind turbine industry and loss of its Vestas contract.
No batteries will be manufactured in Windsor, economic development director Stacy Brown said. The company will assemble lithium-ion battery storage containers in Windsor for distribution throughout the U.S.
Zach Ward, president of Microvast's energy division, said in a letter to Windsor the company expects to create 50 full-time jobs in the first phase with an average salary of $85,900 and an average production wage of $27.50 an hour, or $57,200 annually.
The town agreed to provide $61,112 over 10 years. Weld County also approved a 50% personal property tax rebate, or about $76,395. The net benefit to the town after 10 years is estimated to be $555,564.
O-I Glass, formerly Owens-Illinois Inc., plans to invest $90 million in its plant at 11133 Eastman Park Drive to rebuild two furnaces, replace equipment and bring in new technology to improve its sustainability.
"This investment will allow us to keep production lines operating, reduce (carbon dioxide) emission and improve energy efficiency," plant manager Brian Perkins wrote in a letter to the town's economic development office.
The town's portion of the rebate would total $846,184 over 10 years. Weld County has been asked to rebate more than $1 million.
Perkins, who started working for the company in 2005, said the investment and cutting energy costs "will keep us viable" for the next 20 years.
Each of OI Glass' furnaces costs $30 million to renovate, Perkins said. All work should be done by the end of 2025.
O-I has benefited from three rounds of personal property tax rebates in its nearly 20 years in Windsor. In 2003, it was the first rebate package to be awarded by the town's new economic development office when the company announced it would invest $145 million to open the plant and bring 210 jobs to Windsor.
The amounts of the 2003 and 2010 rebates were unavailable, but the town estimated O-I invested another $5 million in the company in 2010. The equipment for which the original personal property tax rebates were awarded and that is being replaced has all depreciated, so new equipment will bring in new revenue, said Terry Schwindler, a business development specialist with the town.
In 2018, the town provided $36,257 in personal property tax rebates to O-I to retain about 200 jobs.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Windsor approves incentives for companies O-I Glass, Microvast
