Genencor to stay in industrial park
Posted: Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 12:06:57 pm CDT
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer
After plans to shut its Beloit facility down, Genencor told employees on Monday that it will keep the plant open.
“Last August we told employees we would close because of market conditions, but because of the upswing in the ethanol business as well as technological innovations we will be able to utilize that facility,” said Angela Blackwell, Genencor senior communications manager.
The Beloit facility, at 2600 Kennedy Drive in the I-90 Industrial Park, produces and supplies enzymes for the fuel ethanol and sweetener industry. Because of the skyrocketing fuel costs, the market for ethanol has grown since last year.
Ethanol is a product derived from corn which can be mixed with gasoline to reduce energy costs. E-85 gasoline includes ethanol and is becoming more widely used as automakers manufacture for E-85 compatible vehicles. E-85 is 85 percent ethanol and only 15 percent gasoline.
Although the Beloit plant has been growing, several ownership changes made the future of the factory in Beloit unclear.
Enzyme Bio-Systems, Ltd. (EBS) began operating in Beloit in 1985. By 2002, Genencor International acquired EBS and the Beloit factory. As of last August the plant employed 100 workers in the 125,000-square-foot facility.
Then in April of 2005 Genencor was acquired by the Danish company Danisco. The ownership change combined with market conditions put the future of the plant in question.
“When Danisco acquired Genencor company officials considered consolidating the Beloit plant into the Cedar Rapids, Iowa plant.
“In order to be efficient and cost effective the thought was to create one manufacturing location for North America in Cedar Rapids,” Blackwell said.
After the announcement was made last August, approximately 20 people were laid off and 12 people were relocated to other Genencor sites. Currently about 70 employees are at the Beloit facility working.
“We do not having any other plans to have staff reductions and we are planning on doing some capital investment over the next few years,” Blackwell said.
The City of Beloit is negotiating with Genencor and is planning to offer a $300,000 tax incentive package to the company. The direct developer incentives would be offered in two installments over two years.
“We had an opportunity to work with the company. We know our incentive wasn't the main reason they stayed, but we are obviously delighted they are here. The company won't be at the same scale as it was in the past, but it's better than the alternative of having the plant shut down completely,” said Beloit Economic Development Director Andrew Janke.
Genencor International, a division of Danisco A/S, is a leading industrial biotechnology company that develops innovative enzymes and bioproducts to improve the performance and reduce the environmental impact of the cleaning, textiles, fuels and chemicals industries.
Genencor traces its roots to 1982 and employs approximately 1,245 people worldwide. Genencor operates eight manufacturing sites around the world. Division and research and development headquarters are in Palo Alto, Calif., while business and manufacturing headquarters are in Rochester, N.Y. European business and research and development offices are centered in Leiden, the Netherlands.
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