Alachua firm lands $1.1 million in tax credits

ALACHUA – The County Commission has approved a tax incentive for an Alachua-based company that designs high-efficiency batteries.

Encell Technology, located just outside the city limits of Alachua, will receive a little over $1 million in tax credits from the county and the state.  

The state and county will be responsible for 80 and 20 percent of the $1.1 million tax credit, respectively. The tax credit is called a qualified target industry incentive, and is based on three things: the number of jobs a company expects to bring to the county, the average wage of that company's employees compared to the average wage in the county and the amount of money the company will need to invest in new equipment that is taxable by the county.

In Encell's case, their incentive will last for six years. The company estimates over that time period, it will create 167 jobs in the area through its expanded facility located off U.S. Highway 441 in the former Energizer campus. It also expects its employees to be paid two to three times the average wage for Alachua County.

"We're bringing in everything from Ph.D level jobs down to assembly jobs," said Encell spokesman Chris Maier.

The projected annual wage for the new jobs will average about $73,000, with $15,000 in benefits, according to Encell.

Encell is considering Louisiana, Virginia and North Carolina as possible locations for an expansion. The current location will require a $7 million investment to bring it up to regulatory requirements for a production facility.

Encell is currently working on an environmentally-friendly, high-capacity battery that can be used to store energy from solar panels and wind farms, as well as provide backup power for data centers and cell towers.

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