The City of Kilgore approved the designation of a new local reinvestment zone and a tax abatement agreement with Camfil USA Monday morning, paving the way for the Sweden-based filtration product manufacturer’s new $45 million facility to be constructed in Synergy Park over the next three years.
As part of the agreement, Camfil has pledged their new Kilgore facility will create a minimum of 124 new jobs.
“In addition to the investment and job creation, the company will contribute to the diversification of the Kilgore economy and will add the economic benefits of new construction, as well, in the city. The passage of this agreement for this project will make Kilgore a more attractive destination for foreign investment,” said Lisa Denton, executive director of Kilgore Economic Development Corporation.
“This agreement is dependent on the performance of a minimum of $45 million in capital investment and the creation of a minimum of 124 jobs. A delay on property taxes has been a portion of our conversation with the company since the inception of the project that we’ve been working on. During this time, we have been competing with a number of other very competitive communities. While Kilgore is home to several high-impact employers, this project is the highest-impact attraction project in Kilgore’s economic development history, which is exciting and amazing,” she said.
At KEDC’s recommendation, the City Council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 1809 to designate Reinvestment Zone No. 5 for the purpose of creating a tax abatement specified in Resolution No. 21-19. The resolution is a 10-year, 100 percent personal and real property improvement tax abatement agreement with Camfil USA to consolidate new construction and investment in Synergy Park. The resolution was also unanimously approved.
Camfil USA, Inc. President and CEO Armando Brunetti addressed city council at the meeting.
“Camfil is a leading manufacturer of clean air solutions and we provide commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control,” Brunetti said.
“Those systems improve people’s and equipment’s productivity, they minimize energy consumption and they also benefit human health and the environment.”
Founded in 1963, the company began as a family-owned operation in Sweden and teamed up with USA-based Cambridge Filter Corporation to expand and improve its operations. The company now has an international reach, with sales offices in 30 countries.
According to Brunetti, the company specializes in four main business areas: filtration solutions for HVAC systems, air pollution control, filtration products for turbomachinery power systems, and molecular contamination control. Recently, the company developed filtration products used in the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and a new type of face mask now being used to help limit the spread of the COVID virus.
Camfil recently opened a new facility in Taicang City, Jiangsu Province, China at the end of 2020 and broke ground last month on a new facility in Jonesboro, Ark.
Brunetti said Kilgore represented an ideal location for the company to better serve its customers.
“The Kilgore facility fills a void that we have in the Southwest U.S. Right now, our customers in the Southwest are receiving products from our Corcoran, California, facility or our Crystal Lake, Illinois, facility. Our products have to travel a long distance to get to the Southwest. Geographically, Kilgore is in a perfect spot. As you know, we plan on investing about $45 million and providing 124 new jobs, and we’re extremely excited to get this project running,” he said.
The project will consist of two phases: an immediate, short-term phase where the company will lease space locally to set up equipment and begin producing items that have a long lead time and are already on order, and the second phase, which will involve the construction of the new Camfil facility in Kilgore.
