Hershey will get up to $2.6 million over a 10-year period to offset lease costs for a distribution center that will provide jobs to 123 people, the board of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) said Friday.

Southern Classic Food Group LLC will collect as much as $300,000 to open a manufacturing plant where 94 people will work.

Both requests passed unanimously with little discussion.

"I just want to know if there has been an analysis of what this will do to the collective waistline of Utah," quipped Gerald Sherratt, a board member and mayor of Cedar City.

In a separate matter, GOED is launching a national advertising campaign to recruit engineers to the state. The campaign, which starts Sunday, is aimed at filling about 1,000 open engineering positions in Utah.

"Utah enjoys the hottest economy in the nation as people and companies realize all that Utah has to offer. [GOED] is developing a critical recruiting effort for engineers and other professionals to maximize continued success," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said in a statement.

The core of the campaign will be a 24-page insert promoting travel and work in Utah. It will appear in newspapers in several metropolitan cities including Boston, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Workers at the Hershey distribution center will earn an average of $36,829 a year, or 149 percent of the Weber County median wage, according to a GOED analysis.

Most workers won't be employed by Hershey. Instead, they will draw paychecks from an undisclosed company that will operate the center for the Fortune 500 maker of Hershey's Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Joy candy bars.

Hershey will have at least two partners, which are expected to create additional jobs in Ogden. The partners weren't identified.

The $38 million center is expected to generate $13 million in new tax revenue for the state of Utah over 10 years. The city of Ogden is assembling its own financial incentive package valued at more than $3 million.

Southern Classic's manufacturing plant will pay an average wage of $34,453 a year, or 140 percent of the county median salary, according to GOED.

The $10.3 million center will be located in Business Depot Ogden, an 1,100-acre business park on Ogden's north side. It's expected to generate $1.3 million in new revenue for the state in the first 10 years.

Southern Classic was established in 2001 as a regional food products company that makes salad dressings, mayonnaise, vinegars, barbecue sauces and Bloody Mary mixes.

The 75,000-square-foot facility in Ogden will serve a "major client requiring 40 million pounds of product per year in the West," according to GOED.

The board also approved financial incentives for two movie projects.

Producers Scott Trawick, Mark Schmidt and Shaun Schmidt will film "The Glass House" at several locations in Utah next year. The movie takes place in Hungary during World War II. The producers will receive up to $350,000 from the state.

The producers expect to spend $2.3 million of their $3.6 million budget in Utah. They will employ 101 Utah cast and crew members. The average salary will be $475 a day during 55 days of filming.

James Keach, who directed "Blind Dating" and is married to actress Jane Seymour, will receive as much as $500,000 for the movie "Waiting for Forever," a "modern love story" about a young man who reconnects with a childhood friend.

The average salary for 72 Utah crew members is $2,000 a week. Filming begins in about five weeks and should wrap up in January.

pbeebe@sltrib.com