Posted by Dave Dykema - email
MONROE, MI (WTOL) - A brand new company that will build wind turbine towers has set up shop in Monroe. Ventower Industries has created 21 jobs so far and expects that number to reach more than 150 as additional people are hired and trained. Its 115,000 sq. ft. plant is capable of producing 250 wind turbine towers per year.
Ventower Board of Directors Chairman James Viciana says the area's supply of skilled manufacturing workers was a draw for the company, as was the accessibility of transportation. The plant's location at the Port of Monroe allows for shipping, trucking and railroad transport. Ventower will ship towers throughout the Great Lakes region.
"We need to be near water because that gives us a big advantage in our shipment," Viciana said. "This is an ideal location to receive raw material as well as ship our product. We found very skilled workers here."
Ventower received $2.6 million in federal tax credits and $4 million in state tax credits. It also received money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the contaminated 48 acre site where the Ventower plant now stands. It was formerly a landfill.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was in Monroe for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Ventower Tuesday.
"We're getting pollution out of communities and helping companies like Ventower put jobs right back in," Jackson said.
The plant will begin production later this month.
Ventower is also planning for a potential second phase which would double production space and add an additional 100 new jobs if demand warrants it.
If you're interested in working for Ventower, go to http://www.ventower.com/.
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