Celgard Announces Expansion in Charlotte and New Manufacturing Site in Concord, is Awarded Incentive Funding to Support Expansio
January 20 2010 - 9:56AM
PR Newswire (US)
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Celgard, LLC, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO),
and a leading global supplier of microporous separators used in
lithium-ion batteries, today announced that it plans to expand
capacity at its existing Charlotte, North Carolina facility and
build a new manufacturing site in Concord, North Carolina. As
previously announced, Celgard will implement its lithium-ion
battery separator capacity expansion in two phases. In the first
phase, Celgard will add capacity at its existing Charlotte, North
Carolina facility. In the second phase, Celgard plans to build the
aforementioned facility in Concord. Expansion of the Charlotte
facility will start immediately. Construction of the new facility
in Concord is expected to begin the second half of this year. The
expansion project will significantly increase Celgard's lithium-ion
battery separator production capacity in the U.S. by 2012. It is
expected to create more than 200 North Carolina jobs within Celgard
and provide more than 1000 jobs among Celgard's contractors and
suppliers. Celgard could receive up to $18.6 million in cash
incentives and tax credits from the State of North Carolina to
support the company's plans to expand manufacturing production
capacity within the state. The One North Carolina Fund and the Job
Development Investment Grant (JDIG) program were among the
incentives that supported the company's decision to expand capacity
and create jobs in the State of North Carolina. One North Carolina
Fund grants require a local match, and this grant is contingent
upon approval of local incentives. In August 2009, Celgard was
selected to receive a grant award from the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) for the same expansion project. The DOE grant is part
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that
provides federal stimulus funding to support the creation of
American jobs while promoting the development of U.S.-based
advanced battery production for the Electric Drive Vehicle (EDV)
market. "We are thankful for the support we have received from the
U.S. Department of Energy, the North Carolina congressional
delegation, and the state and local governments. We look forward to
championing federal and local efforts to promote a greener
economy," said Mitch Pulwer, Vice President and General Manager of
Celgard. "This funding enables us to accelerate our investments in
production capacity and create jobs here in North Carolina as we
prepare to meet the increasing demand of the Electric Drive Vehicle
market." Celgard is a leading global supplier of microporous
separators used in lithium-ion batteries and is one of the largest
participants in the U.S. lithium battery supply chain. CelgardĀ®
separators are used in lithium-ion batteries for personal
electronics devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones,
digital cameras, power tools, and new applications such as reserve
power/grid management systems and EDVs. These separators play a
critical role in the performance and life of lithium-ion battery
cells by providing a barrier between the positive and negative
electrodes - preventing short circuits while controlling the
exchange of lithium ions from one side of the battery to the other.
About Celgard, LLC-- A Polypore Company For more information,
please visit: http://www.celgard.com/ and http://www.polypore.net/
DATASOURCE: Celgard, LLC CONTACT: John Mozena, +1-313-460-7441, Web
Site: http://www.celgard.com/
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