Cedar City’s American Pacific breaks ground on $100M expansion project

American Pacific Corp. (AMPAC) has broken ground on a $100 million expansion project at its plant near Cedar City. The plant addition is expected to increase the facility’s production capacity by more than 50 percent, officials said. 

AMPAC’s Cedar City plant manufactures specialty chemicals, primarily ammonium perchlorate, a crucial ingredient in solid rocket propellants for space launch and national defense programs. The facility also produces Halotron BrX, a clean fire extinguishing agent, and other specialty materials for the aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical industries. AMPAC’s operations focus on highly technical materials used in critical government and commercial applications where reliability and quality are essential, according to the company’s website.

During a recent groundbreaking ceremony at the plant northwest of Cedar City, corporate president Kris Griffith said the expansion will help the company meet growing market demand for solid rocket motors while continuing to support the company’s mission of supporting the nation’s security and defense.

“That mission gives a lot of meaning to the work that we do here,” Griffith said. “I think I speak for the entire team when we all take a deep pride in that work.”

“For 35 years, Cedar City has been the home of AMPAC, and we could really not ask for a better place to be and grow,” Griffith continued. “I love it here. I know everyone that works here loves it here. The talent and resource pool has been incredible.”

“Western Electro Chemical Co., or WECCO, was the first operating entity of this business as it sits today,” Kevin Clements, the company’s vice president of operations, said. “Although our name has changed throughout the years, the mission of American Pacific has remained the same, and that’s to support the U.S. war fighters, our allies and the defense of this country by providing critical, high-quality specialty chemical solutions.

“We do this primarily by making a product called ammonium perchlorate. We all refer to it as AP,” Clements added, noting that American Pacific is currently the world’s largest producer of the substance.

“The finished propellant, with AP as the primary ingredient, is capable of releasing a large amount of energy very quickly, creating significant thrust,” he said. “This thrust is captured and utilized on many space launch applications, like NASA’s Space Launch System, United Launch Alliance, Vulcan and Atlas vehicles, along with essentially every missile system of the United States and our allies.”

Clements said the planned expansion will increase the company’s production capacity by more than 50 percent and that the company also plans to increase its workforce by over 15 percent.

“Our emphasis throughout the entirety of this project will remain on maintaining the strictest safety and quality standards,” he added. “We’re committed to protecting our people, safeguarding our environment and delivering products of the highest integrity.”

“We are so incredibly grateful for American Pacific’s unwavering commitment to Iron County and Cedar City,” said Colette Cox, director of the Center for Rural Development and Community Outreach of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO). “With this facility expansion, American Pacific has made a huge investment into Utah’s rural economy through the creation of high-quality jobs with family-sustaining wages and a great local and state tax-based contribution.

“American Pacific’s strategic location in Cedar City reinforces Utah’s role in national security and the space economy,” Cox added. “This project strategically aligns with Utah’s goals of strengthening critical industries like aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing and tech.”

The project is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.

The project received a post-performance tax credit incentive from GOEO for its expansion in Iron County. The incentive is part of the state’s Rural Economic Development Tax Increment Financing program.

The state incentive, in the form of a tax credit of up to $413,980 over eight years, is tied to the creation of 26 jobs during that time, with those jobs paying an average of $76,722. New total wages are projected to be $14.9 million during that period, with new state tax revenue projected to be nearly $1.7 million.

“Any deterrent system that the United States or our allies employ is almost certain to have a majority of the propellant ingredient coming from American Pacific here in Cedar City,” Clements told the GOEO board at its September meeting. “That’s something that we’re incredibly proud of, and honestly every Utahn should be proud that this is produced right here.”

“The aerospace and defense industry is vital to Utah’s economy and our nation’s security,” Jefferson Moss, GOEO’s executive director, said in a prepared statement. “American Pacific is a prime example of how Utah fuels global innovation. From rocket propulsion to clean fire suppression technologies, its specialty materials support aerospace, defense, and critical industries while creating long-term prosperity for Utahns.”