ABCD Corp is excited to welcome Blair County’s newest business partner, Gardner Denver, Inc.’s Engineered Products Group to the heart of the I-99 Innovation Corridor.
Gardner Denver will locate into a new 70,000 square-foot facility in Antis Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania to respond to its rapid growth in the natural gas industry. The facility will manufacture and remanufacture high pumps and will provide onsite service and parts distribution to its customers in the Marcellus Shale region. The $15 million project will create at least 40 new jobs within three years.
The facility, to be located in ABCD Corp.’s I-99 Enterprise Campus, will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facility that will be a first of its kind for Central Pennsylvania. Executives from Gardner Denver cited that the location and skilled labor were key drivers towards their decision to decide on Blair County. “This site is centrally located within the entire Marcellus Shale Play and will allow us to service our current and future clients easily with direct access to I-99,” stated Addy Farou, VP of Manufacturing for Gardner Denver.
Barry L. Pennypacker, Gardner Denver President and CEO, said “Having this facility in the Marcellus Shale region will allow us to serve our customers with the velocity they have grown to expect from Gardner Denver. We are grateful for the continued support the Governor and the State of Pennsylvania have given our company and we look forward to working closely with them in the future.”
ABCD Corp., who through a special purpose entity, Blair County Development Corp. II, will serve as the owner/developer on this project. Through its partners, a strategic financing package was compiled to serve the best interest of all parties to include; First National Bank, the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
“We consider our collaborative efforts for economic development here at Altoona-Blair County Development Corp. an item of great pride and we are excited to be part of this project with Governor Corbett, the Governor’s Action Team, DCED, our federal, state and local elected officials, agencies and private sector partners,” said Martin Marasco, President and CEO of ABCD Corp. “We are grateful to Gardner Denver for deciding on Blair County for their manufacturing operations, investment and creation of new jobs here in the heart of the I-99 Innovation Corridor Region.”
The realization of this projects would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of all parties including efforts from federal, state, county and township agencies along with the business and financial institutions including; Governor Tom Corbett; DCED Sec. Alan Walker; Kate Fairweather of the Governor’s Action Team; Blair County Commissioners and the Antis Township Supervisors. In addition, the accelerated permitting cooperation from the Blair County Soil and Conservation District and both the Blair County and Antis Township Planning Commissions. Our local and regional utility partners also allowed for a rapid response on this project including Penelec/a First Energy Company, Altoona City Authority and the Northern Blair Regional Sewer Authority.
Through a competitive bidding process ABCD Corp. selected Al. Neyer, Inc. to serve as the design/build contractor on the construction of this project. Local contractors are serving as part of the construction team including Keller Engineers of Hollidaysburg, PA; Curry Excavating of Duncansville, PA and New Enterprise Stone and Lime of New Enterprise, PA. Jonathan D. Bonime, a vice president with Fischer & Company’s Pittsburgh office, exclusive real estate brokers for Gardner Denver, who directed the site selection process and lease negotiations with ABCD Corp. stated, “This site provides our client with a central location to service the Marcellus Shale while also benefitting from the Keystone Opportunity Zone program.”
The Gardner Denver facility will be the first construction to occur in the I-99 Enterprise Campus Business and Industrial Park. “The investment and new construction by a global manufacturing company such as Gardner Denver, reinforces the strengths of Blair County’s location, workforce, infrastructure and community attributes,” said Marasco. “We look forward to the fast-tracked completion of this project and to future growth in both the I-99 Enterprise Campus and the Blair County Region.”
