A California company that makes fiberglass insulation for the aerospace industry announced today that it will bring 90 manufacturing jobs to Tucson and move into the former Imation Corp. building at 8500 S. Rita Road.
Glass Fiber Inc. will purchase the 88,000 square-foot building and hopes to begin operations in November, said Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., or TREO.
The Chino, Calif.-based company expects to generate an annual payroll of $2.6 million, with employees - the majority of which are to be recruited from the Tucson area - expected to earn about $12 to $14 an hour.
Increased demand for Glass Fiber's fire-resistant insulation material known as HT Fiber could raise the number of local employees from 90 to 190 in a few years, Snell said.
Glass Fiber worked with the Boeing Co. to develop HT Fiber, which meets new Federal Aviation Administration requirements for flame resistant insulation for aircraft manufactured after September 2008. In addition to Boeing, the company's customers include Bombardier Aerospace and Hamilton Aerospace Technologies, both of which have maintenance facilities at Tucson International Airport.
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Tucson beat out several other Southwestern cities for the plant, including Casa Grande and several other Arizona cities, and did so without offering any tax incentives, Snell noted.
"The Southern Arizona region is a great location for us because of its proximity to our aerospace customers and the industries we plan to serve in the future," said Glass Fiber president and CEO Albert Lewis in a press release.
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