French Textile Recycling Firm to Build $390M Facility in Rochester, Create 70 Jobs

A French textile recycling company plans to invest $390 million to build its first North American textile regeneration facility at Eastman Business Park, a project expected to create about 70 jobs and position Rochester as a hub for circular manufacturing, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.

The company, Reju, will develop an 18.9-acre vacant site at the former Kodak campus, where it plans to construct a 145,000-square-foot facility to recycle discarded polyester textiles into reusable material. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2029.

Reju specializes in regenerating polyester textiles and post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. Company officials say the Rochester facility will be capable of regenerating the equivalent of 300 million articles of clothing annually.

“New York State is committed to creating good-paying jobs and supporting innovative projects that keep materials out of landfills,” Hochul said in a statement. “This investment will create new jobs at Eastman Business Park and strengthen our green economy.”

The facility will use proprietary technology developed with IBM Research to convert textile waste into what the company calls Reju Polyester, a regenerated material with a carbon footprint about 50 percent lower than virgin polyester. The material is designed to be recyclable multiple times, reducing reliance on fossil-based inputs, according to the company.

The project is expected to generate about 70 jobs, including engineers, technicians, machinists and production workers.

Empire State Development is supporting the project with a $4 million capital grant and up to $1 million in performance-based tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program. Monroe County, the City of Rochester and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also providing assistance.

Reju is owned by Technip Energies, a global engineering and technology company with more than 17,000 employees in 34 countries. The company has operated a pilot facility in Frankfurt, Germany, since 2024 and announced plans last year for a full-scale European operation in the Netherlands.

“As our first regeneration hub in the United States, this site selection in Rochester is a major step toward building a global circular system,” Reju CEO Patrik Frisk said. “We are investing in a future where post-consumer textile waste becomes a resource, not a liability.”

State and local officials said the project builds on ongoing efforts to revitalize Eastman Business Park, once the center of Kodak’s photographic film and paper manufacturing. Today, the campus is home to more than 100 companies employing more than 6,000 people.

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello called the investment “a significant milestone,” while Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans said the project would help strengthen the city’s position in advanced manufacturing and sustainability-focused industries.

State Sen. Jeremy Cooney and Assembly members Harry Bronson and Sarah Clark also praised the project, citing its job creation and environmental impact.

New York officials noted that the announcement aligns with the state’s broader push to promote textile recycling and a circular economy. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, nearly 1.4 billion pounds of textiles are discarded in New York each year.

“This major textile recycling facility will support our statewide efforts to reduce waste while creating local jobs,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said.

Eastman Business Park President Jim Moran said Kodak is “thrilled” to welcome Reju and support its efforts to eliminate textile waste through reuse and regeneration.