Reported by Ann Rascalli

Another overseas renewable energy company has decided to make Colorado home to its first North American facility.

Bach Composite Industry, a Danish manufacturer of materials for the wind energy sector, will locate its new plant on the former site of Colorado Railcar Manufacturing in Fort Lupton. The proximity to Vestas Nacelles America’s assembly plant in Brighton is no accident, as Bach will be producing composite products
for Vestas and other wind energy businesses, according
to a State of Colorado announcement.

The company’s CEO, Geert Skovsgaard, said in a press release that key factors in the decision to locate in Colorado were the state’s “business-friendly environment, skilled workforce, and dedication to economic development and business assistance.”

Colorado’s reputation for supporting renewable energy and Vestas’ presence in Brighton and nearby Windsor made the state “an obvious choice, [but] it was not our only option,” Skovsgaard said in the statement.

“Our decision to locate in Fort Lupton is a direct result of the extraordinary attention and assistance we received from the governor’s economic development team, which made it possible to acquire, entitle, renovate and occupy a vacant industrial building more quickly than I ever could have hoped.”

Matt Cheroutes, spokesman for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said Bach didn’t receive any incentives under HB 1001. The bill signed by Gov. Bill Ritter last spring offered employers a tax credit of about 3.825 percent of wages paid as long as at least five jobs were created in rural areas and the new jobs paid 110 percent of the county’s prevailing wage.

Bach was offered $2,000 per job of state money through the Economic Development Commission, which has funds that can be used to attract employers.