Axalta Coating Systems has selected the Navy Yard as the
site of a new international research-and-development hub, drawn by the campus'
open green spaces, its existing name-brand tenants, and a generous helping of
public funds.
The 175,000-square-foot research and development center
at the sprawling South Philadelphia site will replace a facility in Wilmington,
Axalta chief executive Charles Shaver said Wednesday at a news conference.
When fully operational in 2018, the $70 million project
will have drawn at least 190 employees north to Philadelphia, according to the
company, which makes specialty paint and coatings for the automotive and other
industries.
Axalta, previously known as DuPont Performance Coatings,
was spun off from the Wilmington chemicals giant by the Carlyle Group in 2013.
It selected Center City for its corporate headquarters later that year.
The company went public in November 2014.
Its so-called Global Innovation Center will occupy a
portion of the Navy Yard already settled by research-and-development facilities
including Shanghai-based pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec's laboratory and
production center.
The campus also includes an office park with headquarters
of drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. Elsewhere at the site, a cluster of restored
industrial structures houses Urban Outfitters' offices and design studios.
Sharing the campus with such companies grants Axalta
standing as it seeks to recruit tech talent and forge an identity separate from
DuPont, Shaver said.
"People will associate with and feel like they are
part of the community," he said, adding that the site's campus atmosphere
along the Delaware River and other outdoor amenities also would be a recruiting
draw.
"You really want to hire the best people who will do
their best for you," Shaver said.
Axalta is working on the new research center with Liberty
Property Trust, which was given the exclusive right to develop the Navy Yard in
2000 as long as it built 60,000 square feet there every two years.
Axalta's engineers and researchers there will coordinate
the work of 1,400 staffers at labs around the world, the company said.
Shaver said that Axalta had considered lower-cost
locations for the facility, such as Asia-Pacific countries with cheaper labor
and regional spots with lower taxes, such as Delaware, but that the Navy Yard's
assets made it worth the expense.
The company is getting some taxpayer help, including a
$400,000 state grant and a $750,000 loan from Philadelphia Industrial
Development Corp. that it will be excused from repaying if it meets certain job
targets, said PIDC president John Grady.
Axalta also may be eligible for breaks on some city and
state taxes through the Navy Yard's designation as a Keystone Opportunity Zone
if it creates enough jobs or invests enough money there, Grady said.
Pennsylvania Labor Secretary Kathy Manderino said the
project is a good deal for the state and the city because it has the potential
to create 300 positions in ancillary industries and other indirect jobs on top
of Axalta's direct hires.
The company's maintenance of a Center City corporate
headquarters and a Navy Yard research facility, meanwhile, demonstrates
Philadelphia's versatility for businesses as it seeks to lure more companies to
the city, Grady said.
"What they're saying is that Philadelphia is a place
where you can base all of your business operations," he said.
Axalta's existing staff at the Wilmington facility, which
it leases from DuPont, has agreed to commute to Philadelphia, Shaver said.
The move from DuPont's facility had become necessary to
complete its split from its former corporate parent, he said.
"It's kind of like when you get a divorce but you're
staying in the same house," he said. "It's not going to work."
Source: Philly.com
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