Reckitt Benckiser’s distribution center expected to employ 100

After eight months of courting, Tooele County has finally won over one of the world’s leading household product manufacturers, convincing British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser to set up a new distribution center near Miller Motorsports Park.

The $32 million facility will take up 680,000 square feet and be built in the new Miller Business Park located across Sheep Lane from MMP, according to Nicole Cline, Tooele County Economic Development Director.

“Reckitt Benckiser will a be a good clean industry for our county,” said Tooele County Commissioner Jerry Hurst. “It is great to have them coming in at this time and employing 100 people when the economy is like it is. This is also phase one of their project. As the economy gets better, they may expand and employ more people.”

As part of its deal with the county, Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to employ a minimum of 100 employees — 60 full-time employees with benefits and 40 part-time employees.

The company has also agreed to consider bids from local sub-contractors for work on the new facility, though the general contractor will be from St. Louis, Mo., according to Hurst.

Reckitt Benckiser was ranked No. 462 on Forbes magazine’s 2008 Global 2000 list — a ranking of the world’s largest companies. The company will distribute household and food products from its new Tooele County distribution center.

Reckitt Benckiser’s leading brands include products like Spray n’ Wash, Calgon water softener, Woolite and Lysol, among many other cleaning, food and health products.

The company was interested in Tooele County because of the availability and price of property for a large project, a ready workforce, and easy access to transportation corridors, according to Tooele County Economic Development Director Nicole Cline.

To entice the company to Tooele Valley and away from competing states, the county offered it tax breaks by creating a Community Development Agency that encompasses the Miller Business Park, which is owned by the Miller Family Trust. Property taxes within the area will be frozen, with any increase in taxes collected diverted for the next 15 years to the CDA. These monies will be used to fund the tax rebate for Reckitt Benckiser, infrastructure built on the site, and a “pass through payment” of $70,000 per year to the Tooele County School District.

The agreement between the county and Reckitt Benckiser is worded so that the tax-rebate is based upon performance, with the major component of performance being the number of people employed, according to Cline.

“If Reckitt Benckiser does not live up to their part of the bargain, then there is no tax rebate from the county,” Cline said. “Also, the agreement is not transferable. If Reckitt Benckiser should for some reason abandon the site, a new owner can not come in and expect the terms of the agreement will apply to them.”

Cline said construction on the new facility could be begin as soon as the contractor submits building plans and the county issues a building permit, and it could be operational as soon as October 2009.

In 2008, Reckitt Benckiser had $9.4 billion in net revenue with operations in over 60 countries. Its 42 manufacturing facilities throughout the world employ 23,000 people.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com