Longtime local company Intercat Savannah, which became Johnson Matthey Process Technologies Inc. last month, will expand its Savannah facility with another 18,000 square feet of research space and the addition of up to 30 new scientists who will research and develop new technology and products for existing and new markets.
Bruce Keener, vice president of manufacturing for Johnson Matthey, made the announcement Tuesday at a meeting of the Savannah Economic Development Authority board and advisory council.
Johnson Matthey manufactures and sells specialty additives and addition systems for use in the fluid catalytic cracking process and other applications primarily for the petroleum refining industry.
The company acquired Intercat in 2010 and on April 1 of this year changed the local company’s name to match its parent company.
Johnson Matthey employs more than 160 people at its facilities in Savannah.
The Savannah Economic Development Authority worked with Johnson Matthey on the expansion.
“We are appreciative of SEDA’s role in helping Johnson Matthey expand in Savannah,” Keener said. “We’ve been in Savannah for more than 25 years and look forward to continuing our investment in innovative technology and manufacturing in this great community.”
Tuesday’s announcement marked the second Johnson Matthey expansion in Savannah in little more than a year.
In April 2013, the company announced it would grow its presence on Eli Whitney Boulevard in west Savannah with a $45 million investment that would include 25 new jobs.
They have since added 40 jobs.
“We are thrilled that Johnson Matthey has once again chosen Savannah to expand,” said Trip Tollison, SEDA president and CEO. “The addition of 25 to 30 high wage jobs in Savannah is a definite win for our area.”
Creative Coast finds a home
After a decade of operating online, through social media and in coffee shop meetings to support the entrepreneurial spirit of Savannah’s knowledge-based businesses, The Creative Coast finally has a brick-and-mortar home.
An offshoot of SEDA, the organization will move into its new home, which it has dubbed the Creators’ Foundry, over the summer. It is expected to be fully open in the fall.
Creative Coast Executive Director Bea Wray made the announcement at Tuesday’s SEDA board meeting.
The 16,000-square-foot facility, located at 415 W. Boundary St., will house Creative Coast offices as well as offer office rental space, incubator space, co-working space and an auditorium for lectures, festivals, workshops and events.
“This is the next logical step for us,” Wray said. “For the last 10 years, The Creative Coast — along with the Savannah Economic Development Authority and other partners — has worked to build what is now a thriving entrepreneurial community in Savannah.
“That community has been developed through the hosting of events like Fast Pitch, Geekend, TEDxCreativeCoast and Startup Lounge, and a community has been fostered online.”
SEDA, one of the original founders of The Creative Coast, has continued to invest in the organization every year since inception. The support of the Creators’ Foundry will be an additional short-term investment, SEDA president Trip Tollison said.
“This partnership to launch the Creators’ Foundry will be another piece of the pie to make Savannah the next ideal destination for high-growth creative and innovative companies,” Tollison said. “It has been a long time in the making to have one place where all the pieces come together.”
Information and applications can be found at creatorsfoundry.com.
IN OTHER ACTION
In other SEDA business, the board approved a request from Savannah Technical College that it invest $41,000 a year for the next five years to:
• Establish a fund ($30,000),
• Facilitate a yearly regional industry training needs analysis ($10,000) and
* Support a presidential advisory committee, a CEO-level group of advisors to Savannah Tech President Kathy Love.