Idaho Falls Wins High-Tech Firm Environmental Specialists Like City Attitude; 500 Jobs Planned

A Tallahassee, Fla.-based company recruited by the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council has announced plans to relocate, bringing up to 500 jobs to the city.

Environmental Solutions and Technology Inc. already has set up a temporary local headquarters and plans to move its manufacturing operations from Los Angeles in the near future. The company projects creating 100 new jobs in the next 12 months and up to 400 more over the next five years.

“This is our first big score,” Tim Allen, the Economic Development Council’s vice president of business development, said Thursday.

The company manufactures environmental protection and remediation products, including a water-based parts washer for cleaning automotive parts, a nonincinerating waste reduction system for municipal landfills and a tire resource and recovery system. It also possesses nuclear waste characterization and reduction technology.

Environmental Solutions and Technology President Craig Gaudio said in a press release that the company selected Idaho Falls “because of the overwhelming reception we received from EIEDC, Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies and the Arco/Mackay Economic Development Group.”

“We were impressed by the cooperation and aggressiveness of the economic development groups in the region, and we expect our company to have a significant impact on the eastern Idaho economy.”

The initial contact came last October at the Wescon Trade Show in Las Vegas.

Allen said his company was most impressed with Idaho Falls because of the availability of technology and the attitude of its people. As incentives, the Economic Development Council offered job training funds and relocation services.

Idaho had a lot of competition for the company, particularly from New Mexico, California and Florida.

Allen said the company expects to begin local hiring within 90 days.