News Releases for October 2005
October 5, 2005
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Hoeven Announces Bobcat to be Anchor Tenant in NDSU Tech Incubator Center of Excellence
FARGO, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today announced that Bobcat Company will be the anchor tenant at the new Technology Incubator Center of Excellence, which will be called the Center for Technology Enterprise. The new facility will be located in the North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park.
“The partnership between Bobcat and NDSU is exactly the type of relationship we envisioned when we introduced the Centers of Excellence concept,” Hoeven said. “This joint venture will allow our students to participate in cutting-edge research and provide higher paying jobs for the community.”
Bobcat is already a Research and Technology Park tenant, with three engineers in residence, but the new facility will add individuals as construction progresses. The company has established a plan providing for about 15,000 square feet of floor space at the facility to accommodate about 50 Bobcat engineers, a working technology lab, and an indoor testing area. The site could eventually become the company’s primary research and development operation for Bobcat, working with all the company’s global manufacturing plants.
In addition to Bobcat, the $5.4 million Phase I incubator project, including $1.25 million in Centers of Excellence funding, will house a variety of businesses doing research and development, offering students an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research and providing higher paying jobs for the community.
Hoeven worked closely with state, federal and private sector partners to help secure funding for the incubator project. His Centers of Excellence program was approved by the North Dakota Legislature for $50 million, which can be leveraged to $150 million with matching funding. Mark Nisbet, Centers of Excellence Commission Chairman, led the effort to secure $2.4 million in private sector funding for the incubator project.
The final piece of funding came last week in the form of a $1.75 million Economic Development Administration grant that Hoeven worked to secure from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Also included in the total are funds from the cities of Fargo and West Fargo and the Fargo/Cass County Economic Development Co.
“The Centers of Excellence concept has brought together the University System and private enterprise to benefit North Dakota citizens,” Hoeven said. “President Joe Chapman, Technology Park Director Tony Grindberg and Vice President for Research Phil Boudjouk have worked tirelessly with Bobcat and others to help us realize the enormous potential we have when we link education with economic development to create higher paying jobs and real opportunities for North Dakotans.”
In August, Bobcat also broke ground on a manufacturing support center in Bismarck, becoming the largest tenant of the new Northern Plains Commerce Centre (NPCC), a proposed freight handling facility. The NPCC will help to create 100 new jobs, save 850 jobs and generate more than $16.5 million in private sector investment.
“Both of these projects underscore Bobcat’s continuing commitment to North Dakota, not just now, but for years to come,” Hoeven said. “They will be in a position to tap some of our best engineering talent through the university and apply that talent to create new products and new jobs right here in North Dakota.”
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