Germany-based flooring company Uzin Utz AG broke ground on its first U.S.-based dry mortar plant in a ceremony on Tuesday.
Gov. Jack Markell, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn and Alan Levin, Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, joined company officials at the future site of the 53,000-square-foot facility that will anchor the Garrison Oak Technical Park in Dover. The site will employ 23.
“Since coming into office five years ago, my goal has been to have Delaware compete and win on the global playing field. Today, we’re celebrating yet another win,” Gov. Jack Markell said. “Uzin Utz is the textbook definition of an anchor tenant. With more than a century of excellence, the parent company is both stable and secure. And in Philipp Utz, the company’s subsidiary is led by a fourth-generation executive who will merge Uzin Utz’s tradition of excellence with its ideas for tomorrow.”
The plant marks a small victory for an administration that has struggled with the loss of two auto plants and other cutbacks in manufacturing. Only in the past year, has manufacturing employment stabilized in the state.
Landing the company may also ease concerns that Delaware cannot attract European companies due to its lack of right to work laws. While unions are commonplace in Europe, companies have often sought Sun Belt sites where laws that ban the mandatory collection of union dues are in place.
Founded by Georg Utz in 1911, Uzin Utz AG is a family-run company that specializes in professional installation systems for all types of floor coverings, leveling compounds, damp-proofing systems, adhesives for textile, resilient coverings and wood flooring.
Uzin Utz’s 53,000-square-foot plant will also house a research and development center and an application area for testing and customer training.
“We are very excited about the groundbreaking today. With this manufacturing plant we demonstrate our strong commitment to U.S. customers, the State of Delaware and the City of Dover. It has taken only seven months to get to the groundbreaking, which shows that Dover is a great place to set up new businesses,” Philipp Utz said. “Dover is strategically located to our core customer markets, and Garrison Oak Technical Park provides an ideal location, with access to a skilled work force and modern infrastructure that will allow us to expand the plant in the future.”
Uzin Utz was awarded a Delaware Strategic Fund Performance Grant and a Capital Expenditure Grant, and plans to create 23 jobs at its new facility in Dover. The company also received incentives from the City of Dover.
“Manufacturing in Delaware is growing by changing. Companies and organizations in that sector are redefining what it means to be a traditional manufacturer and training employees to use the most current technology and practices. Uzin Utz selected Delaware in large part because it recognized our commitment to fostering this growth and change,” Levin said. “Uzin Utz is also one of several companies that chose Delaware because of its well-trained workforce. Nowhere is this more true than Kent County, where the company will have no problem finding a stream of prepared individuals who are ready to work.”
In addition to Uzin Utz, Garrison Oak Technical Park will also soon be home to The Garrison Energy Center, Calpine Corp.’s 309-megawatt combined-cycle electric generating facility, which will enhance reliability for Delaware and the regional power market. The facility is slated to be ready for commercial use by June 2015.
