Firms get millions to come to BDO
Text 
No comments [ Add Comment ]By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
<
OGDEN -- Two national food companies have agreed to accept nearly $3 million in financial incentives from the state to establish operations at Business Depot Ogden.
Efforts are under way to finalize contracts with candy maker Hershey Co. and Alabama-based Southern Classic Food Group, Jason P. Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said Thursday.
The incentives are tied to job creation, capital investments and other economic benchmarks, he said.
Both Hershey and Southern Classic must commit to keep operations in Utah for 10 years to qualify for the incentives.
Hershey and Southern Classic will be excellent additions to BDO and will bolster the local economy, Mayor Matthew Godfrey said.
"This is exciting because they will (financially) invest in the community and improve the tax base," he said. "We have some really prestigious national companies operating in BDO."
Officials with Hershey and Southern Classic could not be reached for comment.
Steve Waldrip, project manager for The Boyer Co., which manages BDO, said he is hopeful Hershey and Southern Classic will sign leases next week for a pair of buildings that will be constructed off 400 North in the northern section of the business park.
Work on the Southern Classic building may be completed in the summer of 2008 and the Hershey facility may be finished next fall, Waldrip added.
Hershey, based in Hershey, Pa., will receive up to $2.6 million from the state over 10 years to operate a $38 million distribution center at BDO that would employ 123 workers, according to GOED. The company is expected to generate about $13 million in new revenue for the state over a decade.
Southern Classic, based in Brundidge, Ala., will receive up to $300,000 from the state to offset higher- than-expected labor and real estate costs. The company will initially operate out of a 75,000-square-foot leased facility in BDO and would employ 94 workers. It is projected to generate about $1.2 million in revenue for the state over a decade.
Employees at the Hershey distribution center would earn on average $36,829 annually, which is 149 percent of Weber County's median wage, according to the GOED. Southern Classic would pay its workers, on average, $34,453, 140 percent of the county median salary.
Most of the employees at the Hershey distribution center wouldn't work directly for the company because the operation would be outsourced to a third party. Hershey also plans to have at least two undisclosed partners who would generate additional jobs at the facility.
In addition to state incentives, Hershey would receive a BDO tax increment package in excess of $3 million that would include land, rail, road infrastructure and utility improvements, said Dave Harmer, the city's community and economic development director.
Southern Classic would receive a $1.5 million incentive package from BDO.
The local incentives for Hershey and Southern Classic would come from BDO's operational budget and would not involve any money from the city's general fund.
Hershey manufactures chocolates and sugar confectionery products and has employs 13,000 people. Southern Classic employs 120 workers in Alabama and, among other things, makes dressings, mayonnaise, vinegars, sauces and syrups.
