The North American subsidiary of a large Chinese manufacturer of wind turbine transmission equipment is looking at the Alliance development in far north Fort Worth as the site of a new $96 million headquarters and manufacturing facility. It is also reviewing a site in Shreveport.
NGC Renewables, a part of NGC America, a subsidiary of NGC Transmission in China, is considering building a 120,000-square-foot plant at U.S. 377 and Texas 170, where it would manufacture, remanufacture and service gear boxes for wind turbines.NGC Renewables has a service center in City of Industry, Calif., but wants a location closer to many of its clients, said Mark Simon, the company's chief operating manager.The Fort Worth City Council heard a proposal for an economic incentive package Tuesday that would provide the company an 80 percent tax abatement for 10 years. The total benefit to the company would be about $4.7 million, said Robert Sturns, the city's economic development manager.The plant would be built in two phases, with the first involving the construction of an $8.5 million plant and installation of $7.5 million in manufacturing equipment. About 40 jobs would be created by Dec. 31, 2013. The second phase would consist of the addition of $80 million in manufacturing equipment by Dec. 31, 2018, with the number of jobs increasing to 150.Under the proposal, the city will nominate the project this month for support from the Texas Enterprise Fund, an economic development program managed by the governor's office.Sturns said NGC Renewables has "an aggressive plan.""They're really on an expansion mode right now," he said.However, NGC is also considering Shreveport, which also has offered an incentive package and is asking the Louisiana governor's office for an additional incentive. Simon declined to say what Shreveport offered but did say, "It's more."NGC Renewables has 18.6 acres at Alliance under contract, but the sale is contingent on which economic development offer the company picks, he said.The Fort Worth council will vote on the incentive package July 17.NGC Transmission was founded in 1969 as Nanjing Machine Repair Factory.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727Twitter: @SandraBakerFWSTHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
