Harrisburg, PA -
Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that Pennsylvania's competitive business environment and key investments have lead the world's leading air filtration products manufacturer to establish operations in Pittston, Luzerne County.
CLARCOR Air Filtration Products (CLC Air) decision to open its new manufacturing and warehouse operations will mean 100 new jobs in northeastern Pennsylvania.
We've made solid progress in rebuilding the state's economy by cutting business taxes and making the investments necessary to improve our infrastructure, educate our workforce, and help our companies grow, Governor Rendell said. As a result, more and more businesses are choosing to re-locate or expand here rather than go somewhere else. We competed against New York and New Jersey to bring CLC Air to the commonwealth.
Seeing this project become a reality illustrates the success of our economic development efforts. Here, and across the state, we've been able to leverage our resources to attract millions of dollars in private sector investment, producing new employment opportunities for our hard working men and women.
Governor Rendell said the new jobs created by the CLC Air project will help maintain the positive employment trend Luzerne County has experienced since January 2003. The county's unemployment rate has dropped from 6.5 to 5.1 percent, with 6,800 more people working today than four years ago.
The commonwealth is supporting CLC Air's $4 million expansion into Pennsylvania through a series of investments including grants, loans and tax credits that total more than $1.6 million.
The Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce supported the company in its efforts to obtain the investment package from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $1,135,562 loan through the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund (MELF), a $200,000 grant through the Opportunity Grant Program (OGP), $45,000 in Customized Job Training (CJT) funds, and $300,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits (JCTC).
CLC Air will lease 249,600 square feet of space in the former Sathers building in Pittston. The company intends to make significant leasehold improvements and purchase new equipment.
The investment we are making with this facility, along with major investments in automation and state of the art production equipment and facilities, will make this plant the most technically-advanced air filtration manufacturer and distribution center in the HVAC filter industry, said Richard Larson, president of CLC Air. The establishment of this new facility is for the sole purpose to better serve our Airguard® and Purolator® Air Filtration customers in the Northeast region of North America.
CLC Air manufactures and sells air filtration products and systems through a variety of distribution channels under such well-known brands as Purolator®, ATI and Airguard®. The company is a diversified marketer and manufacturer of mobile, industrial and environmental filtration products and consumer and industrial packaging products sold in domestic and international markets. To learn more about CLC Air, visit www.clcair.com.
The project was coordinated by the Governor's Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to Governor Rendell and serves as a single point-of-contact for businesses considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania. The team works with domestic and international businesses and professional site consultants on projects possessing significant investment and job creation opportunities.
The Governor's Action team has successfully completed 46 projects in Luzerne County since January 2003 that will create 3,578 new jobs and retain 3,216 jobs in northeast Pennsylvania. The commonwealth has offered more than $93.8 million in state assistance for these projects, which will leverage more than $638.5 million in additional investment.
Statewide since January 2003, the Governor's Action Team has successfully completed 774 projects resulting in commitments for the creation of 81,486 new jobs and the retention of more than 201,581 existing positions. The commonwealth has offered more than $1.4 billion in assistance for these projects, which will leverage more than $8.9 billion in additional investment.
For information on the Governor's Action Team and other DCED funding, visit www.NewPA.com or call 1-866-GONEWPA (1-866-466-3972).
