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Utah on Thursday offered global consumer products company Newell Rubbermaid Inc. an incentive worth as much as $150,000 to encourage the company to consolidate its operations in Odgen instead of Sonora, Mexico.
The company immediately accepted the incentive and agreed to not only retain 415 positions in Utah at its wholly owned Newell Window Furnishings unit but also add 50 employees in the state during the next five years. The company, which manufactures Levolor and Kirsch brand window coverings in Utah, also is known for its many other brands, including Rubbermaid plastic products, Sharpie pens and Graco baby products.
The incentive approved Thursday by the Governor's Office of Economic Development board is payable over five years as a grant from the state's Industrial Assistance Fund.
Members of the economic development board said the incentive helps ensure not only the retention of hundreds of jobs but also the capital investment of as much as $1.3 million in a new facility in the Ogden area. That facility can accommodate the company's expansion.
Once it's built, workers from existing operations in Ogden and Salt Lake City will move into the new quarters.
In addition to the grant from the Industrial Assistance Fund, the state will subsidize the cost of worker training with a dollar-for-dollar match of training costs, up to $125,000 during the next two years. The state Department of Workforce Services is contributing $40,000 of that amount, and the Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College is kicking in $85,000. Weber County also is kicking in another $100,000 toward the development of the new facility.
Newell Window Furnishings has manufactured Levolor and Kirsch blind and cellular shade products for the North American market in Utah for more than three decades.
"We are pleased to have worked with state, county and city officials to reach an agreement that will enable us to expand our footprint today and allow for future growth in northern Utah," said Kristie Juster, president of Newell Window Furnishings.
To qualify for the incentive money, the company must hire 50 new people who must earn at least 25 percent more than the average wage for Weber County. That means the company must pay an average of $41,940 annually to the new workers, including benefits.
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