Area companies win tax breaks [The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio]

Jan. 31--Three companies are in line to receive more than $4 million in Ohio tax credits to help pay for projects aimed at creating and retaining hundreds of area jobs.

A state board on Monday approved the credits for Allstate Insurance Co., which plans to retain 1,200 jobs in Hudson; Schneller LLC, which expects to add 50 employees in Kent; and Newell Rubbermaid Inc., which plans to keep more than 700 jobs at its Gilchrist Road plant in Mogadore.

Newell Rubbermaid, maker of food storage containers and other consumer products, said Monday the $3 million Job Retention Tax Credit also was a major factor in its decision to add nearly 140-full-time production jobs and invest more than $25 million at the Gilchrist Road plant, where workers make a variety of Rubbermaid containers.

Company spokesman David Doolittle said wages paid to production workers average $13 to $15 an hour plus benefits, which are valued at about $6 an hour.

Newell Rubbermaid, headquartered in Atlanta, must keep operations in Mogadore for at least 18 years to keep the tax credit. The credit will be paid over 15 years.

"Mogadore is a very important facility for us," Doolittle said, "and we appreciate these tax incentives that are helping us make this new significant investment in production and jobs."

In Hudson, Allstate Insurance plans to invest $20 million in electrical and other infrastructure upgrades in its data center, part of its 1,200-employee regional operations facility.

The Job Retention Tax Credit -- valued at $1.4 million -- "was absolutely one of the key components to consider" when deciding whether to make the improvements in Hudson, said Allstate's director of real estate and construction, Corey Luecht.

He said other states were in contention for the data center work, but declined to provide specifics. The state released a "project scope" Monday that said Ohio was in competition with Illinois, Wisconsin and Idaho. Allstate is headquartered in Northbrook, Ill., a Chicago suburb.

Allstate must keep operations in Hudson for at least 13 years to keep the tax credit, which will be doled out over 10 years.

In Kent, Schneller LLC would receive a $175,000 tax credit to help pay for an expansion that the company told the state would add 50 jobs to its payroll of more than 100 workers. Company officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

Schneller must maintain operations in Kent for at least nine years to keep the credit. The company makes laminates used in airplane interiors, among other products.

The three local projects were among 17 approved Monday by the five-member board known as the Ohio Tax Credit Authority.

Ohio Department of Development spokeswoman Katie Sabatino could not provide a total value of the tax breaks, but she said the companies plan to invest $219 million in projects expected to create retain 7,858 jobs and create 1,072 more.

Gov. John Kasich's office on Monday issued a news release touting Allstate's planned $20 million investment in Hudson, as well as insurer Progressive Corp.'s planned $35 million investment in various Ohio facilities.

Progressive, headquartered in Mayfield Village outside Cleveland, also received a Job Retention Tax Credit and expects to keep 1,500 jobs in Cuyahoga and Lake counties, according to the news release.

"The insurance industry employs thousands of Ohioans, and it's great to see companies like Allstate and Progressive reinvesting in the state," Kasich said in the news release.

Separately, Newell Rubbermaid last week withhdrew an application to rezone land in Mogadore to allow construction of a distribution center. Residents had expressed concern about such a facility being considered at the former West's Mogadore Country Club.

Newell Rubbermaid is reportedly considering another site in Mogadore -- property on Gilchrist Road.

The company also is considering a site in Brimfield Township in a Tallmadge-Brimfield joint economic development district.

Doolittle declined to discuss the site selection process.

In November, Newell Rubbermaid announced plans to close its 800,000-square-foot distribution center in Wooster by the end of 2012 and move operations to Mogadore. The company said it no longer made economic sense to truck products in an 80-mile round trip to Wooster.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or [email protected].

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