Eden City Council approves economic service agreement with Loparex

The Eden City Council voted unanimously at its Tuesday night meeting to enter into an economic incentive agreement with Loparex LLC. The council held a public hearing prior to the vote.

Under the terms of the contract, the city will appropriate money from its general fund for the costs of building renovations, machinery and equipment. The appropriation will not exceed $283,712.82 in Phase I or $43,846.92 in Phase II, according to the incentive agreement. In both phases, the city will reimburse the company for eligible costs over a six-year period.

Loparex LLC’s 115,000-square-foot facility at 816 Fieldcrest Road in Eden manufactures solvent and solventless, thermally cured silicone coating and tandem extrusion coating, according to Loparex’s company Web site: http://www.loparex.com. The company recently announced plans to expand its Eden facility and add new jobs.

“They’re shooting for the first quarter of next year to have the new addition to the Eden location up and running,” said Kevin Floyd, a public relations coordinator for Nexsen Pruet, a law firm that represents Loparex.

Jake Mays, Chief Financial Officer for Loparex, and Tom Johnson of Nexsen Pruet law firm, both attended Tuesday night’s meeting. Graham Pervier, president of the Rockingham County Partnership for Economic & Tourism Development, said that Loparex LLC feels the agreement with the City of Eden is important enough to send one of its top officers from its Illinois headquarters (Mays) to the Eden council meeting. Loparex also hand-selected the Eden facility from its multiple U.S. facilities for the expansion. The Eden location is Loparex’s only East Coast facility, according to Pervier.

“This is a project that this company could have done in several other of its locations…This is not necessarily the least expensive location that they could’ve done this expansion, but they like Eden. They like the workforce here,” said Pervier.

“It sure is nice to hear people say that want to stay local and stay here, and we really do appreciate it,” said Eden Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Tuggle.
Council member Jerry Ellis said he knows that the products Loparex manufactures are distributed all over the United States and he likes the fact that those products will have the Eden name on them.

Eden Mayor John Grogan praised Loparex for its high standards of operation and maintenance. He said Loparex’s facility is one of the cleanest in the Rockingham County area, and he hopes to have an open house at the manufacturing facility once it completes the first phase of its expansion.

Loparex will have to meet certain investment and employment qualifications to receive the funding from the City of Eden. According to the performance agreement, the company will be obligated to invest a minimum of $6 million in building improvements and $4.6 million in machinery and equipment by the end of calendar year 2010 in Phase I, and $2 million in machinery and equipment by the end of calendar year 2011 in Phase II.

Rockingham County is the third party in the economic incentive agreement with Loparex. The county agrees to pay for eligible costs not to exceed $322,582.12 in Phase I and $49,858.14 in Phase II. Rockingham County and the City of Eden are offering a total incentive of $700,000 to Loparex in two phases, according to the terms of the agreement.

Loparex currently has 88 full-time employees. According to the agreement, Loparex will add 22 full-time positions by Dec. 31, 2010, and will add 31 more full-time positions by Dec. 31, 2011, for a total of 141 full-time positions. Loparex will maintain the 141 full-time positions through Dec. 31, 2017, under the terms of the agreement. The jobs will have an average wage of $18 per hour with a full medical benefit plan.

Pervier said he appreciates the fact that Loparex is bringing “very well paid” jobs to Rockingham County. He said Loparex seems to like the business climate in North Carolina, in part because of the workforce and in part because North Carolina’s corporate income taxes are among the lowest in the United States, especially compared to the Midwest. Part of Loparex’s plans for investment in North Carolina are to move its headquarters from Willowbrook, Ill. to the Raleigh suburb of Cary.

Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.