The $25 million investment will create 40 jobs
Ostara St. Louis, Ltd. will bring 40 new, high-paying jobs to the St. Louis region and make a $25 million capital investment in the establishment of a Crystal Green® fertilizer production facility in St. Louis City. Announced last year and officially approved by the St. Louis Port Authority recently, Ostara has begun recruiting and hiring employees to staff the facility — its largest in the U.S. — and bring Crystal Green®’s sustainable technology to the Midwest. The project was supported by Greater St. Louis, Inc., Missouri Partnership, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, Ameren Missouri, Spire, Bruce Oakley, Inc. and Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA).
“We’re excited to welcome another agtech company to Missouri, where agriculture remains our number one economic driver,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Ostara’s investment in St. Louis will create more career opportunities for Missourians, build on its mission to help farmers improve crop yields across North America, and protect water and soil quality around the globe.”
Canadian-founded Ostara, which develops technologies that recover phosphorous and nitrogen from water treatment streams and produces eco-friendly fertilizer products, currently has a fertilizer facility in Florida but began looking to establish a central U.S. presence. After a site selection search, executives concluded that St. Louis provided optimum conditions for the company’s growth and sustainability goals. The region’s nationally recognized agtech aggregation, its proliferation of educational institutions and its Midwestern location all played a role in Ostara’s decision.
“St. Louis is open for business,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “St. Louis welcomes Ostara as the latest addition to our growing agtech and innovation communities and the good-paying jobs the company will bring to our region.”
St. Louis Economic Development Partnership CEO and President Rodney Crim agrees.
“Ostara has found the perfect location with the 39 North agtech innovation district close by,” said Crim. “St. Louis is truly the agtech innovation capital of the country.”
Ostara plans to work with colleges and universities, businesses, and banks to grow roots and establish a presence in the region, creating the connections needed to build additional local plants in the future.
