HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2072A Resolution
Resolution No~~~
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT WORTH TEXAS NOMINATING A QUALIFIED BUSINESS
FOR DESIGNATION AS AN ENTERPRISE PROJECT
WHEREAS on August 30 1988 the Texas Department of Commerce (the Department )
approved the creation of the South Enterprise Zone (the Zone') in the city of
Fort Worth (the City') and
WHEREAS on May 22 1993 a 5 42 square mile boundary amendment to the zone was
approved and designated by the Department; and
WHEREAS the City desires to pursue the creation of a proper economic and social
environment to induce the investment of private resources in productive business
enterprises located in the Zone and to provide employment to residents of the
Zone and to other economically disadvantaged individuals, and
WHEREAS pursuant to Chapter 2303 the Texas Enterprise Zone Act, Texas Government
Code (the Act) Fresnel Technologies Inc ('Fresnel') has applied to the city
for designation as an enterprise project in the Zone and
WHEREAS the Department will consider the designation of Fresnel as an enterprise project
pursuant to a nomination and an application made by the city
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF FORT WORTH TEXAS
1 The City Council finds and determines that Fresnel meets the criteria for
designation as an enterprise project under Chapter 2303 of the Act on the
following grounds
a Fresnel is a qualified business under Section 2303 401 of the Act since
it will be engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in the Zone
and at least 25 percent of the business new employees in the Zone will
be residents of an Enterprise Zone within the City s jurisdiction or
economically disadvantaged individuals
b Fresnel will be located in the Zone which has an unemployment rate of
not less than one and one-half times the state unemployment rate
•
b Fresnel will be located in the Zone which has an unemployment rate of
not less than one and one-half times the state unemployment rate
c Fresnel will be located entirely in the Zone and will maintain separate
books and records of the business activity conducted in the Zone
d There has been and will continue to be a high level of cooperation
between public private and neighborhood entities with in the Zone and
e The designation of Fresnel as an enterprise project will contribute
significantly to the achievement of the plans of the city for redevelopment
and revitalization of the Zone
2 The City finds and determines that Fresnel meets the criteria for tax relief and
other incentives adopted by the City and hereby nominates Fresnel as an
enterprise project in accordance with the Act on the grounds that it will be located
wholly within the Zone and will create a higher level of employment, economic
activity and stability
3 The City finds and determines that it is in the best interest of the City to nominate
Fresnel as an enterprise project pursuant to the Act.
• 4 The enterprise project shall take effect on the date of designation of the enterprise
project by the Department and shall terminate five years after the date of such
designation.
ADOPTED this 27th day of June 1995
Kay anger
Mayor
ATTEST
~~~'~
Alice Church C'T PPROVED
City Secretary 1( ~~C't
Jt~N 27 1995
• Q~eJ ~~,,e.~/
ct~ ~v,
I Alice Church, City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas certify that the above
is a true and correct copy of Resolution No ~ D ~ .2/ on file in my office and that I as
City Secretary of the city of Fort Worth, have legal custody of such resolution.
Alice Church
City Secretary
•
c.e a 7 / S
ate
•
fre5nel
t~h ie~ inc.
• 101 WEST MORNINGSIDE DRIVE
FORT WORTH, TEXAS 76110
(817) 926-7474
FAX. (817) 926-7146
June 19 1995
Mr Dan Wattles, Director
Texas Enterprise Zone Program
410 East 5th Street, 4th Floor
Austin, TX 78711
Dear Mr Wattles
Fresnel Technologies, Inc, a privately held Texas Corporation, began operations
in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1986 and moved to its current location at 101 West
Morningside Drive in July of 1987 The current facility is located on four acres of
land and consists of four buildings totalling approximately 50 000 square feet.
Fresnel Technologies manufactures Fresnel lenses in a variety of plastic
materials, including its own POLY IRO plastics. Additionally the company
manufactures Fresnel lenses LODIFF® lenses, lens arrays, and other optical
• products for use in the visible infrared, and ultraviolet regions Our Fresnel
lenses range in diameter from four millimeters to 23 inches and are used in such
things as motion detectors breath alcohol testers, surgical lighting, automobile
headlights, and food packaging equipment. The lenses are sold to a growing list of
customers worldwide. Fresnel Technologies was recently recognized at the
Tarrant Expo luncheon for our 50% increase in export sales between 1993 and
1994 Fresnel Technologies owns patents, trademarks, and copyrights covering a
variety of products, materials and processes.
At our West Mornings>.de Drive facility, Fresnel Technologies currently employs
50 persons full time, with an estimated total annual payroll of $1.1 million. The
following table lists the position titles and number of positions for each payroll
classification.
Position Title Number of Positions Average Salary
Production 37 $10,400-$17,680
Technical Support 10 $24,000-$60;000
Office Support 3 $16,000-$45,000
TOTAL 50
Fresnel Technologies also employs 2 part time college students and 7 temporary
employees from service companies to provide flexibility during high demand and
to allow us to observe candidates for possible full time employment.
Approximately 84% of our employees are Fort Worth residents and 42% are
• enterprise zone residents Our current workforce is 33% White, 33% Hispanic, and
31% African American, with all other races comprising 4%
• Mr Dan Wattles
June 19, 1995
page 2
The entire process of manufacturing from raw materials (plastics) through
finished products (plastic Fresnel lenses) is performed at our facility in Fort
Worth. Our processes are performed on and by computer-controlled machines
most of which have been modified or designed and built by us to meet our needs
We strive to train our workforce to perform all of the operations necessary to
produce a finished product from raw materials Therefore, we avoid narrow fob
descriptions that limit flexibility and opportunity Among the tasks that our
workforce performs are compression molding, infection/compression molding,
die cutting of lenses subsheeting of molded parts, quality control inspection of
lenses, CNC milling of parts, packaging of products for shipment, inventory of
raw materials and products All employees are taught to use micrometers,
calipers, and scales and how to use the computers on the machines.
There is a production manager and several assistants who, in addition to the
above-mentioned tasks, schedule production and instruct others in the workforce
about how to perform their tasks. Continuing education courses and seminars are
offered to the workforce on an as-needed or requested basis.
• The technical staff (which has several Ph.D s in physics and chemistry as well as
physicists and engineers with Master's degrees and college-educated engineers
and technicians) provides technical support to the production effort. The technical
staff also conducts research and development projects to improve present
products and processes and to bring new ones into being
Office support staff provides support in areas such as order entry, purchase
orders, billing, bookkeeping and payroll activities, customer service, and in
domestic and international product shipment.
In August of 1994 Fresnel Technologies leased a facility at 101 West Capps Street
(immediately south and adjacent to our Morningside site) However on April 19,
1995 a tornado essentially destroyed the building. At this site, Fresnel
Technologies will be constructing 12,000 square feet of new manufacturing space.
Within the five year enterprise zone designation period, Fresnel Technologies will
create 55 new fobs with an estimated annual payroll of $905 000 The following
table lists the position titles, number of positions and salary range for each new
position classification.
Position Title Number of Positions Average Salary
Production 42 $10 400-$17,680
Technical Support 10 $24,000-$60,000
• Office Support 3 $16,000-$45,000
TOTAL 55
Mr Dan Wattles
June 19 1995
page 3
Fresnel Technologies' immediate capital investment will be $900 000 of which
$450 000 will be used for construction of additional manufacturing space (at the
Capps Street site mentioned above), $400,000 for manufacturing equipment, and
$50 000 for other improvements. The majority of these improvements will be
financed from sources internal to Fresnel Technologies Construction will
commence in July 1995, with a scheduled completion date of January 1996 Initial
hiring is anticipated in December 1995 v~nth operations beginning in January of
1996 During the first five years, Fresnel Technolog7es anticipates additional
investment of $850,000 in additional buildings, manufactur~.ng equipment, and
other development.
Regarding product sourcing, the following table lists a few examples, both in Fort
Worth and elsewhere, of material or service provider and the provider's location.
MateriaUService Vendor Name Location
mechanical services General Engineering Fort Worth
inspection/packaging services Goodwill Industries Fort Worth
rubber pads & mats Texas Rubber Supply Fort Worth
resins (raw materials) Quantum Chemical Co Ohio
•
extrusion services Trio Products Inc. Ohio
colorants Reed Spectrum Co Michigan
Fresnel Technologies provides products to a variety of customers throughout the
Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex, across the nation, and around the world. Finished
products are distributed via the following primary providers
Name Type
Federal Express Air/Truck
United Parcel Service (UPS) Air/Truck
U S. Postal Service Air/Truck
Short term plans for expansion within Fort Worth s South Enterprise Zone
include $900,000 to be invested in facilities equipment, and other development
(described above) to accommodate Fresnel Technologies growing manufacturing
operations Long term plans include additional facilities to house expansion of
current production and for the introduction of new products Also the company
will give consideration to implementation of a possible day care facility for
employees
Fresnel Technologies is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity Fresnel
Technologies has an ongoing commitment to continue hiring minority employees
• as evidenced by our current work force We intend to seek minority owned
businesses for operational supplies and services
Mr Dan Wattles
~~ June 19, 1995
page 4
Fresnel Technologies will continue to make contributions to the Fort Worth
community Fresnel Technologies offers a fob training program, as well as
financial support for continuing education courses Fresnel Technologies has
hired (and will continue to hire) student interns from high schools, junior
colleges, and universities. Fresnel Technologies was chosen Contractor of the
Year (1994) by the Mayor's Committee for providing inspection and packaging
work for the Industrial Contracts division of Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth.
There are no outstanding permits or specialized permits requzred to operate this
new facility Standard building and construction permits will be obtained from the
City of Fort Worth.
Fresnel Technologies commits to participate in the local effort to achieve
development and revitalization in the City of Fort Worth s South Enterprise Zone.
Fresnel Technologies understands that, to be a qualified business" eligible for
enterprise Zone project designation, twenty five percent (25%) of its new or
additional employees must be residents of an enterprise zone within the City's
jurisdiction or an economically disadvantaged Texan.
Fresnel Technologies Inc. hereby commits that thirty five percent (35%)
of its new employees will be residents of a zone or economically
disadvantaged Texans. Fresnel Technologies certifies that the facility is
located entirely within the City of Fort Worth South Enterprise Zone
and the company will maintain separate records of the business activity
conducted in the zone or other information as required by local and
state governmental audits.
Should additional questions arise, do not hesitate to call me. Fresnel Technologies
looks forward to receiving designation as an Enterprise Project.
Sincerely,
~; ~~~
~~~
inda H. Claytor
Vice President