Inland Port Authority approves tax incentive for Northwest Quadrant expansion project
Stadler to double size, headcount at Salt Lake City operations
Brice Wallace
Business Journal
A designer and manufacturer of passenger trains is on track to nearly double its operations in Salt Lake City’s Northwest Quadrant.
Aided by a tax incentive from the Utah Inland Port Authority, Stadler US Inc. will grow from its current 560 employees to 800 employees in the next two to three years, with an overall growth of 500 employees by the time the project is complete. The overall size of the facility will grow an additional 245,000 square feet from its original 260,000 square feet, nearly doubling in size.
Switzerland-based Stadler began production in 2017 at leased space in Salt Lake City and began producing trains at its current site in 2019.
Chris Conradi, chief financial officer for Stadler US, told the inland port authority board that “we’re pretty capped to the max” at the existing facility.
“But what we hope to see is with this expansion and incoming projects, we now have the capacity to go up to over a thousand employees on our site,” he said. “It’s going to take us a while to ramp up to that.”
The company will invest $70 million to $75 million in the project, which could be completed by March 2026.
“Stadler is very committed to the U.S.,” Conradi said. “This is going to become our North American headquarters, so anything we build for North America will happen right here in the state.”
The expansion will result in two new assembly halls, a welding facility, a sandblasting booth and a train battery charging station.
Conradi listed several projects that will keep the company busy through 2031, including trains for Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Texas and Atlanta and parts of California. The Utah work is a contract with the Utah Transit Authority approved in November that calls for up to 80 rail cars for the TRAX light rail system.
The expansion will also help the company develop battery- and hydrogen-powered trains. “Part of Stadler’s MO is we really want to become a clean-energy propulsion provider for some of these transit agencies,” Conradi said.
The UIPA incentive was approved at the authority board’s most recent meeting. It aims to strengthen Utah’s manufacturing sector and advance green technology passenger rail solutions.
The incentive is in the form of an annual property tax differential rebate, equivalent to 10 percent of the assessed property tax, after completion of the development. The rebate will be provided yearly for up to 25 years, provided there is continued operation within the Northwest Quadrant during that time. It is contingent upon continued operations, corporate stewardship commitments and water usage reviews.
“We are proud to expand our U.S. manufacturing footprint right here in Salt Lake City,” Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler North America Division, said in a prepared statement. “This incentive will allow us to accelerate innovation, enhance our workforce, and strengthen our partnerships with the inland port and transit agencies nationwide.”
“This investment solidifies Utah as a premier hub for cutting-edge passenger rail manufacturing,” said Ben Hart, UIPA’s executive director. “Stadler’s expansion will bring high-quality jobs, strengthen local supply chains, and drive innovation in zero-emission passenger rail technology — exactly the kind of growth we aim to support.”
Conradi said the company hopes the expansion will boost economic activity in the surrounding area.
“We do still have quite a supplier base that is outside the United States, so we hope with big expansions like this and creating a bigger footprint, we bring those businesses here locally and we also build up greater economic activity amongst our suppliers,” he told the UIPA board.
Stadler also hopes to enhance job training programs, including through its apprenticeship program that trains 26 youth apprentices at their facility. Four apprentices are expected to graduate from the three-year program this summer.
Conradi said the company is “not sure where we land in the mix” when it comes to tariffs, but it wants to “localize as many competencies” as possible, including welding, additional engineering and production jobs.
He noted that the company has been hampered by weather issues that caused it to slow its capital expenditures. “But fortunately, because of incentives like this, Stadler still has the desire to continue to invest here in the United States,” he said.
Jerry Stevenson, a UIPA board member and Utah state senator, was part of the board’s unanimous incentive vote. “Stadler has been a wonderful organization that’s come to the state of Utah,” he said, “and we hope we continue to present an environment where you can continue to grow and produce product for around the country.”
Stephen Smith, UIPA’s associate vice president of regional project area development, described the expansion project as “another good community partnership here with Stadler Rail.”
“Stadler Rail has been an incredible partner in the Northwest Quadrant [and] for the state of Utah, both as a company and as a community partner,” Smith said. “They’ve supported growth in the Northwest Quadrant. We think this incentive helps further that, providing more opportunities that’ll benefit our project area, the community through workforce opportunities, capital investment as well as sustainable investment.”
The TRAX project, starting at $129 million, is for 20 new Stadler Citylink light rail cars and is funded, in part, by a Federal Transit Administration grant. Pending additional funding, it includes options for 60 additional vehicles. More than 800 Citylink units have been sold in various countries across Europe since 2003.