German consumer goods manufacturer Henkel is seeking up to $1.4 million in state sales and use tax exemptions to support construction of a new research and development facility in Trumbull.
The Connecticut Innovations loan committee is scheduled to meet Friday to consider approving the incentive under the state’s Connecticut Sales & Use Tax Relief Program. The program allows qualifying economic development projects to receive exemptions from Connecticut’s 6.35% sales tax on capital equipment and construction materials.
The proposed tax relief would support Henkel’s planned Henkel Center for Research & Development at 9 Trefoil Drive in Trumbull, a project the company has described as its largest non-manufacturing capital investment in North America in the past decade.
Henkel broke ground on the project in March. The company plans to convert a 45,000-square-foot, two-story office building into a research facility that will bring together its North America Consumer Brands R&D teams, which are currently spread across three Connecticut locations.
The new center will join Henkel’s existing Trumbull campus, which includes facilities at 4 and 30 Trefoil Drive. The 10-acre campus contains more than 110,000 square feet of space and employs more than 200 workers in laboratories and pilot plants.
The project is expected to cost more than $70 million and is scheduled to open by the end of 2027.
Henkel’s North American headquarters is located in Rocky Hill. The company manufactures consumer and industrial products, including adhesives, laundry detergents and hair care brands sold worldwide.
