Willard & Kelsey Solar Group - Perrysburg, Ohio | Trade and Industry Development

Willard & Kelsey Solar Group - Perrysburg, Ohio


A former television components plant in the City of Perrysburg, Ohio, is being re-purposed to accommodate Willard & Kelsey Solar Group, LLC, a manufacturer of thin cell solar panels. Willard & Kelsey intends to locate its headquarters, research and development, and initial production operations at the location.
 
Willard & Kelsey, formed in November 2007, plans to invest $166 million in the relocation project, which is expected to create 400 new full-time jobs and retain 10 existing full-time jobs within three years of the project’s initial operations.
 
The project includes the acquisition of a 252,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. It will house four production lines for the manufacturing of a vacuum-coating, patented, proprietary system for the production of new thin cell solar panels.
 
Ohio was in competition with Kentucky, Florida and Mississippi for the project. To help attract the company, Ohio approved a $5 million Research & Development Investment Loan at an interest rate of 1 percent for the first year and 2 percent for the remainder of the five-year term. The loan is for the purchase of machinery and equipment to be located at its facility in the City of Perrysburg.
 
The company has been awarded a 60 percent credit for a 10-year term for the company’s relocation to Perrysburg. The value of the tax credit is estimated at approximately $3.5 million over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the project site for 20 years.