USTDA PROJECT SUPPORTS MANUFACTURING JOBS IN ILLINOIS
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Acting Director Zak visited with IMT employees under the can manufacturing line that they constructed for export to Nigeria
RED BUD, ILLINOIS (January 27, 2009) – Today, Acting Director Leocadia Zak visited the manufacturing facilities of Integrated Manufacturing Technologies (IMT) in Red Bud, Illinois to meet with employees who are benefiting from USTDA's commercially-focused foreign assistance program. Working with IMT’s parent company, Roeslein & Associates (St. Louis, MO), USTDA funded the early investment analysis on the establishment of new local can manufacturing capacity in Nigeria utilizing U.S.-manufactured equipment. Based on a positive recommendation and the entrepreneurial spirit of the management of Roeslein & Associates, they are preparing to ship the newly constructed, U.S.-manufactured, can assembly line. In addition, Mr. Rudi Roeslein, CEO of Roeslein & Associates, presented Acting Director Zak with a check to USTDA for $240,330 that, together with a check previously received from Roeslein for $10,750, fully repays the original grant.
"This project is a prime example of the way USTDA collaborates with U.S. businesses in bringing U.S. private sector solutions to bear in meeting overseas development opportunities," said Acting Director Zak. "As a result, Nigerians will soon have access to a local, cost-effective canning facility. Just as important, U.S. jobs are supported here at home by manufacturing the new facility in Red Bud, Illinois."
USTDA supported the project with a $251,080 grant in early 2003 that funded a study, carried out by Roeslein & Associates, which established the viability of developing a two-piece aluminum can manufacturing facility in Lagos State, Nigeria. The results of the study were used to attract an investor to the project, GZ Industries, and to secure a loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the United States valued at $26.4 million.
"This project was a priority for our company and presented a real opportunity for our employees to apply their expertise and experience in establishing a world-class can manufacturing facility in Nigeria," said Rudi Roeslein, Chief Executive Officer of Roeslein & Associates. "USTDA's support served as a catalyst in moving the project forward and in providing the bankable documents necessary for the project to succeed."
In 2008, Roeslein & Associates completed the engineering design for the project and was awarded a $30 million contract to furnish equipment and to supply its modular system. IMT is currently manufacturing the modular system and is finishing the manufacturing line, which will be shipped to Nigeria in February.
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