There have been a lot of question about the status of Levelland's newest manufacturer, Eco Blue. Well I'm here to tell you that what you see is not always what you get.
For the past month the owners of Eco Blue, a cotton insulation manufacturer located in Levelland's Industrial Park, have been working on rewiring their building, purchasing equipment and wiring it in and then running test to insure their product is ready for the customer.
The problem is that they are doing all of this behind closed doors. The parking lot is empty and the building is locked up tight with a note asking visitors to simply call a cell phone number. This obviously has caused knitting mill flash backs for some citizens.
Please let me assure the good people of Levelland that while you think you see an empty building in reality what you see is more like a cocoon.
The process that is used by Eco Blue to fire retard the cotton is a trade secret that they can ill afford to have stolen. To protect their intellectual property Rex and David simply pull their vehicles into the building and lock the doors. This keeps prying eyes from wondering into the building and keeps their process safe as a newborn baby in his mother's arms.
Sensing that the natives were growing restless Eco Blue invited the Levelland EDC board out for a tour last Friday. After signing confidentiality agreements and stopping just short of taking a blood oath we were allowed to tour the plant.
While for reasons previously mentioned I can't tell you what I saw. I can share that there has been a consider amount of work done to the building and equipment has been set into place and is now being fined tuned. With any luck Eco Blue will be up and producing cotton insulation made from both recycled denim and West Texas raw cotton before we flip the calendar page again.
So rest easy citizens of Levelland. Things are getting better every day!
This morning in Levelland, two very cool things happened in Levelland's Industrial Park.
Eco Blue Inc. produced their first bale of fire retardant cotton/denim insulation from their manufacturing plant and Independent Electric broke ground on a new building and warehouse.
Both projects have been in the work for some time, but his morning a corner was turned. With board members of the Levelland Economic Development Corporation, Judy Roundtree and Wanda Lawless, present the Eco Blue owners displayed their first bale of product. 
The bale, which is headed to Tennessee for a 1000 sq. ft. home, was produced from denim from South Carolina. Eco Blue will continue to fine tune their process and begin full production in October.
While just across the street employees with Robert Mcham, a local dirt contractor began work on a pad site for Independent Electric's new building and warehouse. Independent Electric (IE), a locally owned electrical contractor,
purchased the site from the Levelland Development Foundation back in 2008 with the intention of relocating their business to the Levelland Industrial Park. IE have been awarded several local contracts including the newest shopping center next to the Wal-Mart Supercenter and both the new Levelland Junior High and the Levelland Academic Beginning Center (ABC).
Congratulations to both these companies for their new endeavors. The Levelland Economic Development Corporation wishes you all the best. Thanks for your investment in Levelland and its future.
Levelland EDC officials met at noon on Monday with Eco Blue to iron out details of a deal that will bring the cotton insulation manufacturer to Levelland, a rural community just 30 miles west of Lubbock, Texas.
After months of negotiations, a deal was finally reached that will put a 40,000 sq. ft. industrial building back into use in the Levelland Industrial Park.
Eco Blue director and plant manager David Davis says, "We want to be here and we are ready to get started." Davis along with his partner Rex Neitsch will begin moving in equipment this week and expect to be up and running within a couple of weeks.
The company signed a 10 year lease purchase agreement that will put the cotton insulation manufacturer into operation in the former knitting mill building. Eco Blue will be required to hire 20 full time employees within 24 months and make additional capital investments. In return the EDC agrees to provide $350,000 corporate incentive for operating capital, 1/2 at time of equipment delivery and 1/2 when the first pound of cotton insulation is produced and ready for shipping.
The company will use raw cotton grown locally for a feedstock to produce a finished loose-fill insulation that is safe for the environment, contains no harmful chemicals or irritants, and will be shipped nationwide. They will also produce a line of products for the bedding industry and a line of natural cotton batt insulation.
Watch for more to come as the company begins its operation in the Levelland Industrial Park.
This year's Renewable Energy Technology Conference and Exposition was an intimate show that allowed Levelland and other members of the High Ground of Texas delegation to visit with key players in the renewable energy sector.
For three days members of the High Ground of Texas pitched the opportunities in West Texas to entrepreneurs and other prospects including representatives from around the globe with representatives from Japan, Denmark and Italy coming by the booth.
Also while at the show Levelland Economic Development Corporation's Executive Director, Dave Quinn, had an opportunity to share information about the High Ground of Texas and Levelland during a live web cast hosted by Matthew Lesko. Watch the interview below.
Free Webcam Chat at Ustream
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Levelland Economic Devleopment Corporation is expected to close on a deal with Eco Blue, a cotton fiber insulation manufacturer that will create more than 40 jobs in the community located just west of Lubbock, Texas.
Officials with Eco Blue have accepted the incentive package offered by the Levelland EDC. Eco Blue could begin manufacturing cotton fiber insulation by the second quater of 2009. The company previously produced the cotton insulation in Post, Texas but decided to relocate to Levelland to take advantage of land, infrastructure and workforce assets.
Under the agreement Eco Blue will purchase an existing 40,000 sq. ft facility located on Industrial drive in Levelland. The Levelland EDC offered Eco Blue a corporate incentive equal to $5000 per job and applied it toward the over all purchase price of the building. Eco Blue will pay the Levelland EDC $550,000 for the building and the LEDC will carry the note on the building for a 10 year period at a reduced interest rate. "This is a win/win for Levelland and Eco Blue," said Elgin Conner the LEDC chairman. "It allows Eco Blue to begin operating immediately while putting the building back on the tax roles for the community of Levelland and Hockley County."
The Levelland EDC has sites available in the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park that offers full city utilities, rail access and employees can be easily drawn from the Lubbock South Plains Workforce Development Area, with a pool of over 200,000 employees in the surrounding area.
The Levelland Economic Devleopment Corporation recently proposed a deal with Eco Blue, a cotton fiber insulation manufacturer that will create more than 40 jobs in the community located just west of Lubbock, Texas.
If Eco Blue accepts the incentive package offered by the Levelland EDC they could begin manufacturing cotton fiber insulation by early next year. 
The company previously produced the cotton insulation in Post, Texas but decided to relocate to Levelland to take advantage of land, infrasucture and workforce assets.
The Levelland EDC has sites available in the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park that offers full city utilities, rail access and employees can be easily drawn from the Lubbock South Plains Workforce Development Area, with a pool of over 200,000 employees in the surrounding area.