Stimulus Grant Allows Rockford Facility to Retrofit to Produce Wind Components

Thanks to a federal Stimulus grant, Ingersoll Machine Tools will soon retrofit their existing Rockford facility to manufacture wind turbine components, a move that will allow the company to retain nearly 70 existing jobs and create over 80 new jobs. According to a Press Release from the State of Illinois:

Ingersoll will use the grant to purchase and retrofit equipment that will give the company the ability to produce wind turbine parts. The grant will allow Ingersoll to transfer its proprietary technology and experience supplying composite manufacturing systems for the aviation industry to the wind industry. The project will help create 87 jobs and retain 69 jobs at Ingersoll.

The grant was awarded through the Green Industry Business Development Program, a component of the state’s Energy Plan, administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and funded by ARRA. Over $100 million in federal recovery funding is available to implement the plan, which is Illinois' most comprehensive effort to date to achieve significant gains in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

But the federal money isn't even half of the cost of retrofitting the facility, says an article from WTVO/WQRF:

Ingersoll is investing an additional $7 million of its own money to revamp this facility to create the blades on the wind turbines.

“This is a private company that’s creating or preserving 150 jobs, that means a lot to the local economy if we keep building on it,” says [Illinois Governor Pat] Quinn. Local leaders agree.

“This is a great day for Rockford Illinois, a great day to help is achieve our vision of going green and going global,” says Mayor Larry Morrissey.

The economic investment is being welcomed in Rockford, an area now suffering over 20 percent unemployment.