Beech-Nut, state officials gather for groundbreaking May 21, 2008 at 3:14 pm by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
Huddled in a tent atop a hill next to the town of Florida water tank, officials this afternoon talked about their hopes for the $124 million Beech-Nut production plant that will be built nearby.
The building, which they said will be energy-efficient and friendly to the environment, will also house the headquarters operation for the baby food maker, which Christoph Rudolf, president and CEO of Hero/Beech-Nut, said ranks No. 2 in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Switzerland-based Hero Group has “experienced significant success in markets around the globe,” Rudolf said, and he expected it to do the same here.
Although the project, which is eligible for $106.5 million in taxpayer-funded incentives, preserves 356 jobs and is committed to creating another 135, state Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, said after the event that he expects the growth to be even greater.
“I think this company can bring Beech-Nut to greater heights,” Farley said. “They are tough business people.”
Hero/Beech-Nut agreed to a number of changes to protect the surrounding environment. Gene Kelly, regional director for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said the company increased from 147 to 196 acres the amount of grassland set aside for the Northern Harrier hawk, a protected species.
Rudolf said the concern about the environment was also demonstrated in Beech-Nut’s efforts to have the new plant certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U.S. Green Building Council.
“Not many manufacturing facilities are built according to LEED standards,” he said. LEED certifications include silver, gold and platinum.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, who also spoke, said he hoped Beech-Nut would seek at least “silver” status under the LEED program.
The new building should be completed in about 18 months, officials said.
Rudolf pledged to work with the communities of Canajoharie and Fort Plain, where existing Beech-Nut facilities will close after the new plant opens, suggesting they might serve as distribution centers or processing plants.
And he encouraged local companies to bid on future construction contracts. Beech-Nut has already drawn some criticism from labor unions after awarding one contract to an out-of-state firm that employs non-union workers.
“We will always favor qualified New York companies over any others,” Rudolf said.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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Brad Littlefield
May 22, 2008, 6:52am
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Although the project, which is eligible for $106.5 million in taxpayer-funded incentives, preserves 356 jobs and is committed to creating another 135, state Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, said after the event that he expects the growth to be even greater.
Another redistribution of public revenues to a privately owned entity. The taxpayers are funding 86% of the cost to construct the new facility; the corporation will pay only $17.5M of the $124M price tag. To add insult to injury, Beechnut is no longer a U.S. owned corporation. Are there any benchmarks tied to the receipt of the funds that pertain to verifiable job creation and a lengthy commitment of operations to Montgomery County and New York State?
Senator Farley and (former NYS Assemblyman and candidate for U.S. Congress) Paul Tonko were both revelling in the media coverage of the ground breaking. Meanwhile, the taxpayers are working multiple jobs to provide for their families, to pay for the rising energy bills and higher food prices, and support corporate welfare.
It is time for change in government. The people must elect traditional conservatives to restore fiscal restraint and accountability to government.
That's why I posted this. I couldn't believe what I was reading. And it really pi**ed me off when OUR TAXPAID, ELECTED OFFICIALS appeared so proud of giving this foreign country our money!!!! Unbelievable!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
FLORIDA — The Hero Group Inc. would lose as much as $1 million for each year the number of employees at its new plant falls below levels set in a payment in lieu of taxes agreement headed for a final vote next week by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. PILOT agreement
To read the entire proposed payment in lieu of taxes agreement for the new Beech-nut baby food facility in the Florida Business Park, click here.
The 20-year agreement, one of several incentives tied to the development of the new baby food facility in the Florida Business Park, also calls for the Hero Group to pay back any financial assistance in the event it fails to meet several commitments, according to a draft of the agreement.
"They're under strict guidelines with regard to their employment," Montgomery County Economic Development Director Ken Rose said today.
Officials this week celebrated groundbreaking for the $124 million project. The company expects to maintain 356 positions and create another 135 jobs by building the new facility.
The PILOT sets a base employment level at 393 jobs through January 2013 and 491 jobs thereafter.
The Hero Group would have to pay sales tax, mortgage recording tax and any other financial assistance if the company fails to build the facility, leaves the site or transfers 15 percent of its workforce of 393 employees before January 2013, according to the draft.
The company will pay $2.5 million each of the 20 years in the agreement, but will get that money back for the first 13 years.
The town of Florida, Montgomery County and the Greater Amsterdam School District will start receiving money from the PILOT in 2022. Annual payments for these taxing jurisdictions will be set at $976,000 for the county, $1.464 million for the school district and $60,000 for the town.
Those seven remaining years of the PILOT will yield $6.832 million to Montgomery County, $10.248 million to the Greater Amsterdam School District and $420,000 to the Town of Florida, according to the agreement.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the PILOT during its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
What a great concept - performance guarantees! I'm curious to see if that wonderchild Gillen has ever heard of such a concept?
Although I oppose the awarding of grants of public revenues to private entities, particularly those that are foreign owned, it is refreshing to see that Montgomery County Economic Development Director Ken Rose has some sense of responsibility to the taxpayers who are funding this economic development and has structured the agreement to protect, to some degree, the investment. Schenectady Metroplex Chairman Gillen should take a lesson from Mr. Rose.
It still bothers me that the taxpayers are covering ~84% of the cost of this project with the corporation paying for only 16-17%. That amounts to government ownership.
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The 20-year agreement, one of several incentives tied to the development of the new baby food facility in the Florida Business Park, also calls for the Hero Group to pay back any financial assistance in the event it fails to meet several commitments, according to a draft of the agreement.
What are the other incentives that are alluded to? Does the statement re: paying back any financial assistance in the event of the company's failure to meet commitments suggest that ALL of the funding and benefits will be repaid?
Business development and job creation are important, but, at what cost should it come?
I'm glad to see that Montgomery County got these additional jobs. What really bothered me about this is the fact that George Amedore seemed to be persona-non-grata at this event and that not only did Paul Tonko decide to stick his nose into this and make it a front-page ad for Paul Tonko for Congress, but Shelly Silver who up until now seemed to have a limit to his knowledge of upstate as far as how to get from the city to the Assembly Hall actually found his way out to the "wild west" to stick his nose into this business. Tell me what he had to do with this whole thing. The picture in the top center on the paper copy this morning had a picture including Tonko, which is mysteriously missing from the article on the Gazette website at this time.
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