Incentives lure insulation firm to Nephi in '08

A Florida-based manufacturer of fiberglass insulation said Tuesday it will put a 99-employee plant in Nephi, moments after receiving $4 million in state incentives.

Privately held FiberTEK Insulation LLC said the 300,000-square-foot facility will be completed by late 2008. It will be the company's second manufacturing plant, complementing a 100-employee, 275,000-square-foot plant near Tampa that provides insulation to residential, commercial and industrial markets in the East.

Jerry Oldroyd, chairman of the Incentives Committee for the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board, said the Nephi jobs are expected to pay 45 percent above the Juab County median wage.

During a GOED Board conference call to approve the incentives, Nephi Mayor Mark Jones said the new plant would provide jobs for residents who would like to work locally but have not been able to find work or who have had to commute or move elsewhere for employment.

"So we're very excited about the prospects of having the additional job opportunities that would be a great opportunity for Nephi to have a company of this caliber to locate here and be a part of our community," Jones said.

He added that he had traveled to FiberTEK's Florida plant and met with management, employees, nearby businesses and people in the neighborhood. He described the feedback as "very positive."

The state incentives will be from two sources: $1.25 million from the Industrial Assistance Fund that will reimburse the company for costs associated with Nephi Power adding a new substation to serve the plant, and a job-creation tax rebate of $2.75 million.

Nephi Power will pay at least $1 million to add capacity at the substation to serve more than just the plant, and Jones said he expects other companies to move in and support FiberTEK.

Board member Bill Boyle said having developable land and a power station were advantages of the transaction. He described the incentives as "a seed investment. This isn't just for one company but hopefully for a whole host of economic development opportunities in this rural area."

"The way I see it is, they're using one company as a catalyst to jump-start a quadrant of this city that is vacant and bare land right now," said Regula Bhaskar, board chairman.