Governor Scott Walker today joined officials with Saint-Gobain Corp. to announce that the world leader in the habitat and construction markets intends to expand its medical device manufacturing facility in Portage--a project expected to create dozens of jobs.
"Saint-Gobain's decision to expand in Wisconsin--after looking at other options all over the world--says a lot about the state's dedicated workforce and strong business climate," Governor Walker said. "This is great news for central Wisconsin, and I applaud this global leader for its continued commitment to our state."
"Our Portage plant has a long history of profitable growth. This combined with the quality of our people and products, the fact that it has one of the best safety records in Saint-Gobain Corp., and the support of the state and local government made the expansion decision easy," said Marco Corrales, Vice President of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic's Fluid Systems Division. "We expect the future to be bright in Portage."
Saint-Gobain, a 350-year-old business, is one of the 100 largest industrial companies in the world and among the Top 100 global innovators, has over 180,000 employees in 64 countries. One of its subsidiaries is Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, which operates 54 manufacturing facilities around the world, including Portage. The Portage facility is a custom manufacturer of silicone and thermoplastic solutions for medical devices for ophthalmic, fluid delivery, and IV therapy systems.
The $11 million project, which developed during the planning of Governor Walker's trade mission to Europe, will be completed during the first half of 2016. The company will add 48,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space and will make upgrades to the current facility, which currently has about 300 employees. This marks the company's fourth expansion in Portage in the last decade.
To support the expansion, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has agreed to provide Saint-Gobain with up to $700,000 in state tax credits over the next three years. The actual amount of credits issued will be contingent upon the number of jobs created and amount of capital investment the company makes during that time.
"Saint-Gobain is one of the many global companies that appreciates the value of establishing and growing operations in Wisconsin," said Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of WEDC, the state's lead economic development organization. "WEDC is pleased to be able to play a key role in ensuring the company's continued contributions to Wisconsin's strong and growing bioscience sector."