In a major boost to Utah’s aerospace and defense industries, ATK Aerospace Systems announced today that it will open a new facility in Davis County to manufacture commercial and military airframes, and commercial engine structures.
Announcement of ATK’s new Composites Center of Excellence expected to create up to 802 new full-time positions in Northern Utah over the next 20 years – was made by Mark De Young, President and CEO of ATK, and Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert this morning at Clearfield City Hall.
“ATK has long been a tremendous corporate citizen in this State, and I am thrilled that Utah citizens – and the State’s economy, particularly in Northern Utah – will continue to benefit from the partnership between ATK and the State of Utah,” Governor Gary R. Herbert said. “ATK’s significant capital and workforce investment in Utah will further strengthen Utah’s position as a world leader in Aerospace and Defense composite structures.”
The company expects to begin adding new jobs this year. The average salary for the new positions will be more than 125% of Davis County average wage, and the State estimates the company will be pay some $939 million in new state wages over the next 20 years. New State tax revenue is estimated to exceed $62.9 million over same period.
“Utah has been a great partner to ATK for decades, and I am pleased that ATK will be participating in the State’s economic development program,” said Mark DeYoung, President and CEO. “Expanding ATK’s aerospace structures business in Utah affords us the opportunity to build on our existing military and commercial aircraft engineering and manufacturing expertise. This new facility will be at the center of ATK’s continued expansion into commercial aircraft for both domestic and international markets.”
ATK has already committed to investing more than $100 million in the composites center of excellence. The company plans on making significant additional investments at this facility as it enters into full rate production on existing commercial and military aerospace programs. The new business operation in Clearfield fits directly into the Aerospace and Defense economic clusters of strategic industries, which the Governor’s Office of Economic Development has identified as key contributors to Utah’s long-term economic growth.
“For years, ATK Launch and Space operations have provided high-quality jobs in the fields of manufacturing and engineering,” said Clearfield Mayor Don Wood. “The addition of the F-35 production, and now this commercial aerospace opportunity, says much about the collaborative effort and spirit of cooperation between ATK, the City of Clearfield, Davis County, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and our Congressional Delegation in Washington D.C.”
The project has been a cooperative effort of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah and local economic development leaders. All worked diligently to bring this project to the State. As a part of that effort, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Business Development Board approved a post-performance, single taxpayer, Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) incentive of $18,898,061 for the new ATK manufacturing facility.
The post-performance refundable tax credit represents 30 percent of the new state tax revenue which will be generated over the 20-year life of the incentive. Additionally, up to $262,000 in post-performance training funds for 131 new specialized employment positions created over the first two years of the project may be granted.
All EDTIF incentives are post-performance and are based on a tax credit of a portion of new state tax revenue collected from payroll, sales and corporate income taxes previously paid, and therefore add significantly to tax revenues reserved for education funding in Utah.
The project is a phased expansion into an existing 615,000 square foot building with new machines and tenant improvements; resulting in a new high tech manufacturing facility to produce aircraft composite structures. There is an immediate need to begin the expansion to support more than $1 billion in new business. Although the expansion will support these new contracts, it will eventually allow the Utah operations to compete for future high technology business.
ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and revenues in excess of $4.8 billion. Additional information about ATK is available online at www.atk.com.
Economic Development is a top priority for Governor Herbert, who serves as Chairman of the National Governors Association Economic Development and Commerce Committee. For more information about the Governor's economic development initiatives, please visit www.business.utah.gov.