CLEARFIELD -- The ATK composite division in the Freeport Center has received "request for proposal" information from three Northern Utah industrial sites as it looks to expand its operation into a campus-type setting, officials say.
"ATK's attempt is to become more efficient and competitive in the marketplace," said Kent Sulser, director of Davis County's community and economic development.
A request for proposal, for expansion of the composite manufacturing facility, was made to the Freeport Center in Clearfield, East Gate in Layton and the Business Depot of Ogden, Sulser said.
A selection process is expected to be complete by the end of March, he said.
City officials are working with officials from ATK and the Freeport Center in response to the expansion request, said Clearfield City Manager Chris Hillman. "We are heavily involved."
Hillman said the city is now in discussion stages with ATK.
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said he is aware of the RFP, but had no details. He said the Business Depot of Ogden would be a good fit for ATK expansion.
"We would love to have ATK jobs in Ogden."
Heather Kralik, spokeswoman for ATK Aerospace Structures, which is based in the Freeport Center, declined to comment regarding a request for proposal for its composite division.
"We don't confirm or deny internal business discussions," she said Monday.
Other officials are equally mum, despite rumors rumbling throughout the Top of Utah.
Richard McConkie, Ogden's deputy director of community and economic development, wouldn't say whether the city has submitted a proposal to ATK.
"When we are dealing with companies, we agree to keep things confidential until they disclose the project," he said.
ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company and supplier of such products as munitions, propulsions and composite structures.
The company employs 1,000 to 2,500 workers, according to its Web site. It has about 600 workers at the Freeport Center.
In response to whether Layton is participating in submitting a proposal to ATK, city staff responded with "no comment."
Mayor Steve Curtis said it is a long-standing policy of the city not to share information publicly when working with private businesses.
Sulser said Davis County is helping both Layton and Clearfield in the process.
"We certainly cannot favor one or the other," he said.
Davis County supports retaining the ATK composite division within the county, Sulser said.
"They have been here for 30 years. We would welcome them for another 30 years."
Layton has invested many dollars in preparing East Gate, a 650-acre business park just east of Hill Air Force Base, at about 3500 N. Fairfield Avenue.
Layton, by putting inventory at the doorstep of the military base, is hoping to attract to the site aerospace and composite-type industries.
To lure those types of companies to Layton, the city is using as a carrot the nearby Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville, which provides courses in composite manufacturing.
But there is also room for the company to expand at the Freeport Center, Sulser said.
The industrial park offers a nearby parking lot that could be used by the company for expansion, he said, and the park does have open land for future construction.
Sulser, without going into detail as to what the proposals contain, said the county supports what Layton and Clearfield have proposed to ATK and it will continue to sit at the discussion table in doing what it can to offer assistance.
In stressing the importance of the county's retaining the longtime business, Sulser said, "85 percent of our new job growth occurs within the existing portfolio of companies."
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