In its work session on June 6, the Fort Worth City Council heard a presentation from Director of Economic Development Robert Sturns concerning a tax abatement for Smith & Nephew Biotherapeutics.
Smith & Nephew is a British-based multi-national firm with 15,000 employees worldwide with sales over $4.6 billion in 2016. They feature advanced medical products and healthcare services for orthopedics reconstruction, advanced wound management, sports medicine, and trauma and extremities applications.
The company is looking for expansion of an existing site at 4900 W. Vickery.
Sturns said the proposal is for a tax abatement of up to 55 percent over five years, along with the company being nominated for Texas Enterprise Designation in the September round of applications.
In return, Smith & Nephew would make a property capital investment of about $25.7 million by Dec. 31, 2018, for expansion, along with retaining approximately 83 existing jobs and hiring up to 100 more with an average wage of $64,000 by 2022. Of these, a minimum of 40 percent would be Fort Worth residents and a minimum of 30 percent would be Fort Worth central city residents.
In addition, the company would be called upon to spend 35 percent or $1.225 million of hard construction costs with Fort Worth minority/women-owned businesses, 35 percent or $5 million annually with Fort Worth companies, and 25 percent or $3.57 million annually with Fort Worth minority/women-owned businesses.
Sturns said the project could bring in tax revenue of about $715,000 to the city.
The project is still very much competitive, Sturns said. The company is looking at two other possible locations in New Jersey and one in Curacao.
“We are excited about the prospect of expanding Fort Worth’s footprint in the biotech industry,” Sturns said.
The public hearing on the proposal will be in the June 13 council agenda.