Praxair Distribution Will Keep 60 Jobs in St. Clair County
CHICAGO - Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced almost $950,000 in Opportunity Returns support for Praxair Distribution, Inc., an industrial gas company, to help the company permanently relocate operations to Cahokia, where the company had been temporarily located after a fire forced it to move from a previous facility in St. Louis, Missouri. The business investment package comes as a part of Opportunity Returns, the Governor’s comprehensive economic development strategy to create jobs and build the economy in Southwest Illinois.
“Praxair is a great example of the types of high-tech companies that are now calling Illinois home. We are creating a business climate that is encouraging investment and innovation that is also putting more and more people to work. By choosing Cahokia as its new permanent home, this Fortune 500 company is going to continue being a leading player in the important industrial gases industry, which is going to create more good jobs,” Gov. Blagojevich said
Founded in 1907, Praxair was the first company in North America to commercialize cryogenically separated oxygen. Over nearly 100 years, the company has remained a leader in the development of processes and technologies that have revolutionized the industrial gases industry. In June 2005, Praxair’s St. Louis distribution facility was damaged by a series of explosions and a resulting fire. As a result, the company temporarily moved its operations to a vacant, company-owned site in Cahokia, but has now decided to stay there permanently and make a $3.5 million investment to upgrade the facility. The company will retain 55 employees from its previous facility and create an additional 5 jobs within two years to work at the new plant. Praxair holds almost 3,000 patents, has more than 27,000 employees in 40 countries, and is a Fortune 500 company with annual sales of $7.7 billion.
“Gov. Blagojevich has been very supportive of Praxair during our relocation process and has been instrumental in providing the resources to help us locate permanently in Cahokia. We are happy about our decision to officially make Illinois our new home for this plant and look forward to beginning a new chapter here,” said Randy Brittingham, Division General Manager of Praxair.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is administering the business investment package. It includes Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) corporate income
tax credits over the next ten years based on job creation; Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds that will help enhance the skills of its workforce; as well as additional financial benefits, such as sales tax exemptions and tax credits for job creation, resulting from the company’s location within an Enterprise Zone.
“Praxair’s decision to permanently locate at the Cahokia plant and invest in Southwest Illinois is great news and will help to build our local economy. I thank Gov. Blagojevich for providing the tools necessary to make this happen, and I look forward to working with the company to grow its business,” said State Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Steeleville).
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Praxair, helping them overcome last year’s setback and move forward with a permanent home in Illinois. Gov. Blagojevich and I look forward to the company’s success and increased productivity in the region that will mean better economic opportunities for our hardworking men and women,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.