Assisting the growth of Utah based companies is a priority for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). To this end, GOED and Wilson Electronics announced today that the company will expand its existing facility in Washington County.
“For many years Wilson Electronics has had a positive, significant impact on the local economy and community of Washington County,” said Spencer P. Eccles, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We commend the company for the success it has achieved and are pleased to offer our support as it continues to grow.”
Wilson Electronics designs and manufactures a wide variety of amplifiers, antennas and related components to improve communications for cell phones and cellular data devices. Wilson’s cell phone boosters virtually eliminate dropped calls, increase cell phone reception, range and dramatically accelerate data transmission. The company delivers cell phone booster solutions for mobile, in-building and machine-to-machine (M2M) data transfer situations.
“Wilson Electronics has a long history as a job creator in Washington County,” said Robert Van Buskirk, Wilson Electronics president and CEO. “We’re very pleased that the company is able to contribute to the local economy by creating additional jobs as we expand into new markets and continue to grow our existing business. We sincerely appreciate the support of GOED in our efforts.”
Wilson Electronics expects to add 75-150 new professional and production positions over the next 5 years that, on average, will earn 125 percent of the average wage in Washington County, with each position including benefits. Wilson Electronics invests heavily in training new, as well as existing, employees on its product line and manufacturing processes. New state wages over the five year life of the agreement are forecasted to be approximately $22.4 million. The expansion is also expected to lead to an estimated capital investment of $2.7 million. Over the five year period, the expansion is estimated to generate new state taxes of $1.7 million.
“EDCUtah commends Wilson Electronics on their decision to expand in Washington County,” said Jeff Edwards, President and CEO of Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “Wilson Electronics’ commitment to Washington County shows great confidence in Utah’s workforce and business environment.”
As part of a contract with Wilson Electronics, the GOED Board of Directors has approved a maximum cap tax credit of $266,312 in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) incentive, which is 15 percent of the net taxes Wilson Electronics will pay over the five-year life of the agreement. Each year as Wilson Electronics meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the tax credit incentive.