Shearer’s Foods Chooses Massillon Over
Texas Shearer’s Foods, Inc., currently headquartered
in Brewster, Ohio, announced plans to build a new production
facility on 14 acres in NOVA Technology Park in Massillon,
Ohio. Massillon was in competition with Lubbock, Texas
for the new facility. Shearer’s Foods presently has a 180,000
sq.ft. facility in Brewster and a 190,000 sq.ft. facility
in Lubbock. Founded in 1974, Shearer’s Foods manufactures
and distributes kettle cooked potato chips, traditional
potato chips, tortilla chips, extruded products, and other
related snack products. The company manufactures products
under the Shearer’s brand, as well as co-packing products
for a number of industry customers including Frito-Lay,
Giant Eagle, and Gordon Food Service. Shearer’s Foods employs
667 associates, with 560 associates in Ohio. The new production
facility will be LEED Gold Certified and will comply with
the U.S. Green Building Council’s requirements for the
reduction of energy and atmospheric emissions, water conservation,
waste reduction, associate sustainability, and minimization
of the site’s environmental footprint. With the planned
employment of 181 new associates and the investment of
over $60 million, the State of Ohio has awarded the company
a 50% Job Creation Tax Credit for a term of up to eight
years valued at $612,909. Additionally committed was $100,000
in Ohio Investment in Training Program funds and $181,000
in Employment Screening and Recruitment Services through
the Employment Source, the Stark County One-Stop. The State
of Ohio also awarded a $2 million 166 Direct Loan at an
interest rate of three percent for an eight year term and
a $8,425,000 Ohio Enterprise Bond Fund loan for a term
of eight years at an interest rate to be determined. The
City of Massillon will be considering a ten year, 75% tax
exemption on real estate and a $50,000 economic inducement
grant. To read more about the announcement, click
here.
Case Farms Expanding into Stark County Case Farms,
LLC has announced plans to build a new feed mill on 18 acres
in the NEOCOM Industrial Park in Massillon. This $14 million
project is necessary in order to increase operating capacity.
Case Farms, which also has operations in Winesburg, Ohio,
and in North Carolina, is an integrated poultry processor
engaged in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution
of fresh and frozen poultry products along with the production
of poultry breeding stock. The company processes 1.6 million
birds per week and has more than 2,000 employees. The State
of Ohio awarded the company a 35 percent Job Creation Tax
Credit for a term of up to seven years for the creation of
25 full-time jobs. The value of the tax credit is estimated
at $49,600 over the term. The City of Massillon awarded Case
Farms a 75 percent, ten year tax abatement and a $15,000
economic development grant. Also important to the company’s
decision to locate in Massillon was the availability of rail
service from Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company. To
read more about the project, click
here.
Jumpstart Invests in Canton-area Company InSet
Systems, LLC, a mine communications company has been awarded
$400,000 from Northeast Ohio venture development organization
Jumpstart, Inc. InSet Systems will use the money to speed
up development of a tracking system meant to pinpoint the
location of miners and mining equipment. The money will also
allow the company to begin installing InSet systems in mines.
The company eventually plans to pursue other uses for the
technology, which tracks inertia using accelerometers, gyroscopes,
miniature sensors, and computers that measure changes in
geographic position, velocity, and orientation. The company,
currently located in Strasburg, plans to relocate to the
Akron Global Business Accelerator which houses several startup
technology companies. To read about the announcement, click
here.
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