Aerospace, med-device firms eye region for expansion

DENVER — The Colorado Economic Development Commission Thursday offered incentives to a pair of unnamed companies — one in the aerospace and defense sectors and the other a medical-device manufacturer — that are considering building new manufacturing facilities in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. 

Project Hedge, as one of the firms is referred to in Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade documents, is headquartered in Denmark and “conducts advanced manufacturing of products for the aerospace, energy, and defense sectors.”

It is the EDC’s practice not to identify companies that OEDIT is recruiting or supporting for expansion until incentives are accepted.

“The company behind Project Hedge is engaged in a site selection process to substantially expand its North American advanced manufacturing business,” an OEDIT memo said. “In addition to Colorado, the company is considering California and Arizona. Within Colorado, the company is considering Larimer County.”

The EDC offered Project Hedge tax incentives worth up to $1,038,878 over eight years. 

To receive the full amount, the company — which has 220 current employees, one of whom is in Colorado — would pledge to create at least 82 new jobs at an average annual wage of $107,158. New roles would include engineers and operators involved in machining, cutting and related manufacturing tasks.

The EDC also approved an incentives offer to Project Rhein, which, according to OEDIT, “specializes in developing and manufacturing cardiovascular diagnostic and therapeutic devices.”

Project Rhein’s “primary investor is searching for a US location to increase manufacturing capacity,” the memo said, and is considering Boulder and Weld counties. Beyond Colorado, the company is also mulling New Mexico, Arizona and Texas for its manufacturing expansion.

The tax-incentives offer totals up to $2,580,715 over eight years.

To receive that full value, the company — which currently has 200 employees, 120 of whom are in Colorado — would have to create 190 new jobs that pay an average annual wage of $107,158. New jobs are expected to include assembly operators, quality inspectors, engineers and technicians.

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