This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Everything from salad dressing to caramel glaze will be flowing from a manufacturing plant come April, when Litehouse Foods Inc. starts operating in a new $10 million facility in the Washington County city of Hurricane.
The Sandpoint, Idaho-based company expects to eventually employ more than 160 workers in the facility that is projected to bring hoped-for economic vitality to southwestern Utah.
Spencer Eccles, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said Tuesday that the company's decision will also help Utah attract other companies looking to expand or relocate.
He said the state has offered Litehouse more than $500,000 in tax incentives over the next 10 years if the company meets certain performance goals. Those include paying wages that are at least 100 percent of the annual average income in the community — just shy of $30,000, according to the Office of Economic Development.
Eccles' office expects the company to pay $37 million in wages and $2.5 million in state taxes over the 10-year term.
"They [Litehouse] are offering solid jobs and benefits," he said.
Eccles said the state poured on what he describes as the "secret sauce" of cooperation between local and state governments to entice the company.
"This is an example of [Utah's] commitment to bringing new businesses to the state, including rural areas," he said.
Kelly Prior, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Litehouse looked at other sites to serve its Southwest U.S. customers before deciding on Hurricane.
He said utility costs, labor rates and quality of life also were factors in the choice. Along with a plant in Sandpoint, the company has similar production facilities in Lowell, Mich., and Kent, Wash.
Hurricane Mayor Tom Hirschi said the town is excited about the new plant, which he said will keep the community of about 14,000 economically viable.
"It took a lot of hard work and hours by a lot of people, but we won out over a site being considered in the Phoenix area," said Hirschi.
He said economic conditions slowly have been improving in the community after unemployment hit a high of 11 percent three years ago.
He credits the community's economic survival in hard times to a Wal-Mart distribution center in Hurricane that employs as many as 500 workers at a time.
Washington County Economic Development Director Scott Hirschi said the county offered its own incentive package, including treating wastewater from the company at a sewage-treatment plant so it does not have to be transported long distances on public roads.
Hirschi said Litehouse is just one of a number of companies that have inquired about locating in Hurricane.
"Things had been depressingly low until we saw an uptick around the end of June," he said. "We're getting a lot of requests for information from companies serious about doing things on an aggressive schedule and not waiting two to three years … Things are going positive."
Over next 10 years
Utah has offered Litehouse more than $500,000 in tax incentives.
Litehouse expected to pay $37 million in wages.