Westcode Inc., a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer and supplier of HVAC equipment door systems and rail industry parts, will lease a facility in Galesburg, Ill., and create 20 new jobs as part of an up to $267,000 business investment package from the state. The state approved a $1 million grant to the Galesburg Sanitary District (GSD) to improve the city’s wastewater system.

Westcode Inc., an outgrowth of Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co., a British-owned rail-engineering group, formed in 1973 and was privately purchased in 1995 by its current owners. The company is a primary supplier to the U.S. transit industry and is headquartered in Philadelphia, with other locations in Binghamton, N.Y., and the United Kingdom.

Westcode supplies a list of new and refurbished HVAC parts to the New York area, as well as rail parts to rail transportation companies. Westcode has secured relationships and business in the Midwest with customers including Chicago Metra, Amtrak in Beech Grove, Ind., and EMD (General Motors) in LaGrange, Ill., and Kawasaki based in Lincoln, Neb.

Westcode also has working relationships with BNSF and Chicago Transit Authority.

The funding for the Galesburg Sanitary District is for a Final Polishing Filter System, which will greatly enhance the plant efficiency, improving the quality of the community’s waste water treatment. This infrastructure improvement will better position Galesburg to successfully attract and accommodate companies to the area, including efforts to attract small businesses, warehousing and distribution companies to the 330-acre Galesburg logistics park.

Engineering work is complete and the project has been put out for bid with completion anticipated by Fall of 2007. Through Opportunity Returns, Gov. Blagojevich also provided $300,000 for water line improvements to the city of Knoxville, which is currently under construction.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is providing the funding to the GSD and administering the business investment package of grants and tax credits to Westcode. DCEO will make available Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) corporate income tax credits over the next ten years based on job creation; and provide Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds to enhance work force skills; a grant to help the company purchase equipment machinery; and additional financial benefits, such as sales tax exemptions and tax credits for job creation, resulting from the company’s location within an Enterprise Zone.

Westcode is also receiving a $10,000 grant and $112,500 revolving loan from the City of Galesburg and technical support from the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association (GREDA).

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