В Лонгмонте открылись заводы ракетной компании Ursa Major и Micron: инвестиции на миллиарды и новые высокотехнологичные рабочие места

Wood: Longmont’s very, very good summer LONGMONT — Longmont is having a pretty good summer in terms of economic development, with Aug. 20 a particularly significant date. “There are not many days like the one I experienced yesterday in my 30 years in Economic Development,” Kelly Sage, president and CEO of the Longmont Economic Development Partnership, posted on LinkedIn in late August. “Two amazing firms held ribbon cuttings in Longmont. Here’s to SENS and Ursa Major for their expansions!” Sage was referencing two of three significant recent announcements: Ursa Major Technologies Inc., the Berthoud-based rocket- and missile-propulsion company, unveiled a 25,000-square-foot facility in southwest Longmont. Stored Energy Systems LLC, better known as SENS, celebrated completion of its move to a 105,000-square-foot facility on the Seagate Technology campus. Additionally, Micron Technology Inc. has received a temporary certificate of occupancy for its new 200,000-square-foot “megalab” on Clover Basin Drive. Then, just days after opening its Longmont facility, Ursa Major provided an exclamation point. The company announced that it will go public through a $1.6 billion merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, potentially valuing the company at $2.3 billion. The deal is expected to close early next year and would provide the company with substantial additional capital to expand production, including in Longmont. Ursa Major is a Berthoud company, and that community deserves plenty of credit for nurturing one of Colorado’s remarkable homegrown aerospace and defense companies. But Longmont will play a significant role in the company’s next chapter. That’s a good economic win. And it’s not the only one. SENS had just 50 employees at the end of 2020. CEO Igor Stamenkovic said the company will cross the 300-employee threshold; the company previously committed to creating 314 net new jobs that pay an average annual wage of $97,493 as part of a state incentive agreement. SENS has doubled its overall footprint in two years, and its manufacturing space has grown from about 15,000 square feet to almost 35,000 square feet. It has already filled much of that manufacturing space. Then there’s Micron. The semiconductor company’s new Longmont megalab is more than twice the size of its previous 90,000-square-foot operation. Micron has estimated its investment at as much as $212 million — $73 million in construction and another $139 million in machinery and equipment. An incentive agreement with Longmont calls for the company to maintain its existing 243 employees and add at least 20 more, with the new jobs paying an average of at least $140,000. Economic-development announcements often come with impressive numbers, and sometimes those jobs don’t materialize. And sometimes, companies accept incentives, fulfill their minimum obligations and eventually move on. But these announcements have heft. They represent significant investments in facilities that are central to the companies’ future operations. They involve industries with substantial growth potential — aerospace and defense, semiconductor technology and advanced manufacturing, as well as the infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence. And there’s another lesson here. Yes, incentives played a role. Ursa Major was offered a substantial state incentive package to expand in Colorado. SENS received state and local incentives. Micron is receiving a Longmont incentive tied to its investment and employment commitments. But incentives alone don’t explain what’s happening. Ursa Major CEO Chris Spagnoletti acknowledged that Colorado is more expensive than some competing states but said concentration of aerospace and defense talent from metro Denver and Northern Colorado makes the state a good fit. Stamenkovic cited Colorado’s innovative and entrepreneurial culture, workforce and quality of life. These attributes matter at least as much as incentives. Longmont has spent decades building an economy that is more diverse and technologically sophisticated than many communities its size. It has had setbacks along the way, as does every community. But it also has developed assets — its workforce, location, broadband infrastructure and proximity to research universities — that are difficult for competitors to duplicate. With Ursa Major, SENS and Micron, Longmont is demonstrating that those factors matter. And it reminds me of an old Longmont economic-development slogan: “Longmont: Where Ideas Get Manufactured.” Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-630-1942 or [email protected]. Longmont is having a pretty good summer in terms of economic development, with Aug. 20 a particularly significant date.