LAYTON -- Even under dark clouds and rain, state, county and city officials on Thursday offered the brightest smiles to Janicki Industries ownership group.
The welcoming party for the Washington state-based company, bringing with its expansion to Utah 50 "family-sustaining" jobs and a $19.5 million investment in real and personal property, included Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Gov. Gary Herbert.
"It's about growing jobs. We are bucking the national trend," Herbert said of the high-precision composite manufacturing company that will offer jobs paying 125 percent more than the average Davis County annual wage, which in 2009 was $36,780.
Herbert praised the private/public teamwork involved in bringing the company to the state.
About a dozen dignitaries participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new plant while heavy construction work for the 100,000-square-foot building that will anchor Layton's East Gate Business Research Park was under way in earnest just west of where 100 people had gathered.
Janicki Industries, headquartered in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., is the first tenant in Layton city's 630-acre business research park.
Construction of the plant is scheduled to take six to seven months; Big-D Construction is the contractor.
"This is what was envisioned," said State Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, former mayor of Layton who was instrumental in the city setting aside land for an industrial park to keep more jobs at home.
"It just took us longer than expected," he said of bringing the first company to the industrial park site bordering Hill Air Force Base. "This is the kind of thing that needs to be up here."
The company plant, with an official address of 3835 N. Fairfield Road, will employ about 50 full-time workers, the large majority of those positions to be open to the local work force, said Lisa Janicki, chief financial officer for the family-owned company. Janicki officials have said there is potential for more jobs in the future.
The plant will generate just more than $1 million in state taxes annually, said Kent Sulser, Davis County community and economic development director.
The Janicki plant will support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program at Hill.
John Janicki, president of Janicki Industries, said Utah is able to offer expertise as aerospace companies that are looking to expand are increasingly selecting Utah.
"There is a large base of expertise here, and that presents opportunities for collaboration and innovation," Janicki said in a prepared statement.
"We hope to be a good neighbor to the base."
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