Pflugerville Community Development Corp. on Thursday approved performance agreement terms to relocate Essentium Inc., a materials manufacturer, to the city.

The final agreement now goes to a Pflugerville City Council vote before terms with the College Station-based manufacturer become official.

Included in the preliminary performance agreement language is a mandate that Essentium expands its operations in Pflugerville to employ 170 workers within five years of beginning operations in the city.

"This is exactly the type of company we’re looking to bring here. It’s high paying jobs [and a] highly educated workforce," PCDC President Ken D'Alfonso said.

Essentium is a 3-D printing and manufacturing company and employs chemical and mechanical engineers, production specialists, global supply chain sourcing specialists and applications engineers, according to PCDC Executive Director Amy Madison.

During discussion prior to its vote Thursday night, Madison stated the average annual wage for employees at Essentium is $75,000 with benefits. Per Madison, Essentium will bring 50 jobs by the time it opens and add 40 more in its second year in Pflugerville.

The manufacturer has been in discussions with PCDC to relocate to Pflugerville for more than two years, according to Madison, but the city had little warehouse and manufacturing space to accommodate businesses like Essentium.

That has changed in the past year, according to Madison. In February, PCDC announced a $14 million deal with Live Oak on Heatherwilde 45, a Class A industrial park. Heatherwilde 45 is expected to reach completion on its first shell buildings by Dec. 31, 2019.

Last month, Pflugerville City Council approved a deal to secure Pecan Park at One Thirty Business Park, a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use space to be developed by Industrial Group Southwest.

“From a holistic standpoint, the community needed additional space for us to be able to recruit companies. Fortunately, Essentium’s timeline worked in with our timeline of bringing in that additional space so when we worked with Live Oak to bring in Heatherwilde 45, it was with the specific intent of being able to provide space for this company and others," Madison said Thursday night.

The performance agreement with Essentium now must be approved by the City Council. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 9, although an agenda has not yet been released.

Essentium and PCDC have not yet released an estimated relocation date for the manufacturer.