Thermal insulation firm planning $4M expansion
Kevothermal heads to Mesa del Sol site
Thermal insulation company Kevothermal is investing $4 million to expand its Albuquerque manufacturing operations, boosted by $300,000 in Local Economic Development Act funding.
The company is moving from its current 17,000-square-foot facility near the Albuquerque International Sunport to a 36,000-square-foot space at the Mesa del Sol planned development community in south Albuquerque, said Mark Connell, Kevothermal technical director of temperature assurance. The expansion will create 20 new jobs.
The company makes vacuum insulation panels for a range of uses, including packaging, stationary refrigeration, refrigerated transportation, electronics and more. It’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the North Carolina-based packaging solutions company Sealed Air Corp., a global firm with $4.5 billion in sales in 2017.
“Kevothermal, a wholly owned entity of Sealed Air, has been in the Albuquerque area since 2007 and we are pleased to continue our growth and further entrench our roots here,” Connell said in a statement.
The company’s technology was originally developed at the University of New Mexico and brought to market by NanoPore Insulation, a local startup that launched in 1993. Sealed Air formed a joint venture with NanoPore in 2007 to market thermal insulation products, and then acquired the Albuquerque startup in 2012, Connell said.
The technology uses insulation materials with tiny holes, or nanopores, contained in a vacuum space. That boosts insulation efficiency and reduces energy costs when keeping things cool.
NanoPore Inc. continues to operate independently, applying its thermal insulation technology to other products in different markets.
“NanoPore Inc. still exists, but NanoPore Insulation does not,” Connell told the Journal.
NanoPore Inc. representatives could not be reached for comment.
The state will provide up to $300,000 for the expansion through the LEDA closing fund, with Bernalillo County acting as the fiscal agent. County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the award Wednesday, said state Economic Development Department spokesman Kevin Kelly. It includes clawback mechanisms mandated by state law to ensure Kevothermal meets its employment and other obligations.
Economic Development Secretary Matt Geisel said Kevothermal’s expansion is another example of state development tools helping to retain and grow firms in New Mexico.
“While Kevothermal may now be part of a global corporation, its roots are New Mexican,” Geisel said in a statement. “The technology was developed in UNM’s Department of Engineering and it is rewarding to see the renewed fruits of New Mexican entrepreneurship and innovation.”