DOVER, Del. (WBOC/AP)- A Delaware firm best known for manufacturing NASA spacesuits is relocating a recently acquired subsidiary's manufacturing operations to Sussex County, with plans to bring 115 new jobs to Delaware.
Gov. Jack Markell announced Thursday that ILC Dover will bring the manufacturing operations of Grayling Industries from its current production facility in Juarez, Mexico, to a new plant near Seaford later this year. Grayling's production line includes protective packaging for food, chemical, and pharmaceutical dry powder and liquid applications. It also manufactures brands for the asbestos abatement and remediation industry worldwide.
In agreeing to bring new manufacturing jobs to Delaware, ILC Dover is asking for a state Strategic Fund Performance Grant of $364,500.
The company also is asking for a capital expenditures grant of $187,860, or a 3 percent match on qualified capital expenditures up to $6.2 million.
That funding is contingent on approval by the state Council on Development Finance.
ILC Dover said it plans to move the first line of products to Delaware in April, when it will hire 35-40 new positions, and complete the move of the other production lines by the end of 2013, when it plans to fill all 115 positions. The company expects to employ roughly 560 people once the new positions are filled.
While Grayling's manufacturing operations are moving to Delaware, its offices will remain in Alpharetta, Ga.
