While the exact details of an incentives package have yet to be presented, Rowan County [North Carolina near Charlotte] officials received more information Friday on “Project Kaze” a $63 million-plus wind tunnel facility looking to locate in Rowan County. “Kaze,” pronounced KAH-say, is the Japanese word for “wind.” John N. Hunter, who has been the Charlotte-based contact for the wind tunnel, forwarded Friday a PowerPoint presentation the company plans to make at 7 p.m. Monday to the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. “Wind Tunnel eXtreme” will be a world-class facility built specifically for automotive testing with its customer base focused on race cars, the presentation says. Expected customers would include NASCAR teams; NASCAR-associated manufacturers such as Toyota, GM, Ford and Chrysler; Formula One teams; original equipment manufacturers, sports car racing teams; open wheel racing teams (Indy Car); original equipment manufacturers not associated with racing; and sanctioning bodies such as NASCAR, Indy Car and others. The Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission will ask commissioners that a public hearing on an incentives package for the company be held Sept. 4. According to a timeline, if the project receives approvals it is looking for, initial site work would begin in the first quarter of 2008. The hiring and training of employees would occur in the third quarter of 2008, and the facility would be complete by the second quarter of 2009. It’s anticipated that the wind tunnel would have its first customer by the third quarter of 2009 and would be fully operational 10 to 12 weeks later. The wind tunnel, which would incorporate a turntable and rolling road system, would employ 29 people (engineers, aerodynamicists and managers) with salaries from $52,000 to $230,000 a year. The annual payroll would be about $2.2 million. The company says traveling customers of Wind Tunnel eXtreme will mean business for airlines, hotels, restaurants and car rental agencies. Other economic benefits will include the catering of hot meals for every work shift. Its proponents say the wind tunnel will help attract additional high-tech businesses to Rowan. During its construction phase, the project will supply roughly 100 jobs over the expected 22-month buildout, Hunter’s information adds. The quality suppliers to the project will include Jacobs Technologies, the largest builder of wind tunnels; MTS, a manufacturer of wind tunnel components; PI, the largest provider of wind tunnel software; and HB&A, a construction management company. The company addressed some concerns usually associated with this kind of project. It says the facility will not produce any hazardous waste or emissions. It will not require any environmental permits, and the noise level outside of the facility will not be noticeable beyond 10 feet. The wind tunnel company plans to be on an 8- to 10-acre parcel and will be buffered by landscaping, according to the report coming Monday night. There should be no lighting or traffic concerns generated by the facility, it adds. It’s believed that the company, if it locates in Rowan County, will join Toyota Racing Development on part of the 89-acre tract on Peach Orchard Road that TRD recently bought for its planned $28 million facility. Four “project principals” are expected to attend Monday’s meeting.(Salisbury Post)(8-19-2007)
