MONMOUTH – Don’t tell John Stankiewicz that manufacturing in Maine is dead.

The chief financial officer of Tex Tech is thrilled that his company has been designated a Pine Tree Zone company, making it eligible for tax breaks under the governor’s economic development program. The designation clears the way for the company to invest in new equipment and hire between 50 and 60 employees to help the manufacturer capture more of the techno-textile market.

“I think we’re very excited about the announcement,” said Stankiewicz. “These are very good times for us.”

Tex Tech makes about 90 percent of the tennis ball felt used worldwide. But it also makes enhanced textiles that are used in manufacturing fireproof and bulletproof items, and filters used in industrial applications. Its products are used in Humvees and helicopters seeing duty now in Iraq.

“We have a couple of product segments that are going very nicely for us – new products with fire-blocking material and thermal/ballistic materials,” said Stankiewicz. “But we need additional equipment and to hire a significant number of employees over the next 18 months to facilitate that growth.”

The Pine Street Zone designation allows a company to get reimbursement for 80 percent of its payroll taxes from new jobs for up to 10 years. Stankiewicz said that was greatest benefit from the designation for Tex Tech.

The program also allows companies to get a 100 percent refund of corporate income tax on a rolling basis. Also, starting next year, companies can get a 100 percent sales and use tax exemption for construction materials and equipment purchases.

The company currently employs 200 people, but hopes to hire 50 to 60 more skilled workers as it grows. Stankiewicz said the quality of the workforce at Tex Tech is one of the reasons the company has been able to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

“Our labor force is pretty sophisticated. … They’re dedicated with a great work ethic,” he said.

In fact, the company consolidated all of its U.S. manufacturing operations into North Monmouth over the last three years. The company had plants in Missouri, Arizona and Virginia.

And it has a Far East production operation that handles most of the commodities manufacturing. Stankiewicz said moving the lower-end production work to Asia meant the higher-end work could stay and expand in Maine.

“We’re not a traditional textile company,” he said. “We don’t make shirts and blankets. You can’t survive the competition from the Far East in that.

“We’ve gone off after the higher-end, sophisticated markets,” he said. “We patent what things are made up of, or the process. We can get the pricing to support that.”

That philosophy impressed the economic development officials who considered Tex Tech’s application for Pine Tree Zone status.

“What stood out was the nature of what they’re doing, their expansion plans and the fact that they’re a world leader in what they do,” said Elaine Scott, marketing director for the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

DECD Commissioner Jack Cashman and local officials will be on hand Tuesday for a ceremony marking the designation. The announcement is the first for a company in the Kennebec Valley Pine Tree Zone.