Flagstaff offers Gore incentive to expand
Summary:
W. L. Gore & Associates, a major Arizona medical-device maker and Flagstaff economic engine, will add 80 manufacturing jobs and a 22,000-square-foot addition through a development agreement with the city council, the Arizona Daily Sun reports.
Full Story:
A 22,000-square-foot addition and 80 new manufacturing jobs are in the pipeline for the Flagstaff-based medical device maker W.L. Gore & Associates. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, a development agreement between the Flagstaff City Council and Gore, one of Flagstaff's major economic engines, is in the works to secure $100,000 in municipal reimbursement for the expansion project, slated to take 18 months.
According to the Sun, members of the Greater Flagstaff Economic Council and the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce that make up the city's Economic Incentive Committee unanimously recommended the reimbursement incentive for Gore, because it offers high wages among local industry players and leads Arizona's medical device operations in size and scope.
The reimbursement fund, which currently stands at $700,000, is made up of contributions from general fund surpluses. The 80 new jobs projected will boost Gore's total payroll to 1,480 employees.
The impetus for expansion comes after recent improvements in Gore's stent-graft technology, which will permit physicians to use less intrusive maneuvers during arterial surgeries. The company is currently awaiting FDA approval on these innovations.
For more information:
"Council helps Gore add 80 jobs," Arizona Daily Sun, 01/04/2005