An Edinburgh manufacturer will save an estimated $124,000 over the next five years through a tax abatement approved Tuesday.
In exchange for breaks on property taxes, Georg Utz Inc. plans to hire at least 14 more full-time employees for its northern Bartholomew County operations. That includes seven more workers by the end of this year, and the rest by the end of next year, said Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp.
Most of these positions are line operators or process technicians who will earn salaries averaging about $18 an hour, Hester said.
On Tuesday, the Bartholomew County Council voted unanimously to give the subsidiary of Georg Utz Holding AG of Switzerland a five-year property tax abatement on $2.9 million worth of new equipment.
During the first year, the abatement will save the company $41,296, according to estimates provided to the council.
While that’s 100 percent of the property taxes on new equipment, Georg Utz will be entitled to an 80 percent reduction the second year that reduces the savings to an estimated $33,037.
Each year, the county will add an additional 20 percent back onto the bill until the five-year abatement finally expires, Hester said.
The abatement formula calls for Utz to pay $82,592 in property taxes during the first five years, while having $123,888 of its $206,480 tax bill abated.
This was the fifth tax abatement approved for the company, council member Jorge Morales said.
Before Tuesday’s vote, audience member Tom Heller told the council he believes U.S. manufacturers are in less need of such local breaks after Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December.
Over the past six years, Georg Utz Inc. has seen a steady sales growth of 20 to 30 percent annually, and has attempted to reinvest 7 to 10 percent of its earnings back into capital projects, said Mike Black, the company’s director of operations.
Located on a 35-acres site north of the Edinburgh Premium Outlets, the company produces custom and standard plastic containers for industrial, logistic and storage industries.
It has about 63 employees, including 15 temporary workers, Black said.
In 2003, Georg Utz Inc. began its local operations in a rented former military building off Andrews Drive on the east side of the Columbus Municipal Airport.
It was able to move into a $15 million facility south of Edinburgh within a few years of arriving in Bartholomew County.
