The state's gamble on Procter & Gamble putting a manufacturing facility in Utah could pay off big.

The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Tuesday approved a potential $85 million tax-rebate incentive to entice Cincinnati-based P&G to build a paper products manufacturing plant in unincorporated Box Elder County that would start with 300 workers and balloon to 900 by 2018 and 1,000 by 2028.

If Utah gets the plant, workers there could expect pay that is twice the county median. "It clearly fundamentally changes economic development in Box Elder County," said board member Richard Nelson.

Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said it is "a thrilling prospect" for P&G to consider Utah but noted that other states — California and Missouri — have also made incentives to the company.

"They (P&G) haven't made their announcement," he said. "This is still a very competitive process. Our vote today, and the reason for us calling the meeting when we have called it, is so that we can go that next step as they do their due diligence and they present incentives from the states to their management teams.

"We don't know what other states are doing, but it is certainly our hope that we are successful as a state for this particular opportunity."

Jerry Oldroyd, chairman of the board's incentives committee, said large projects usually mean vendor and supplier companies locate nearby. "We're really looking at it as a cornerstone for the development of this type of manufacturing," he said.

"Box Elder County could really use this," board member Gerald Sherratt said, "and you're talking about not just all those employees, but all the other people that will be coming in because of it. It would be a wonderful thing for that county."

P&G also would represent economic diversity, he said. "I think one other great thing about this project is it gives diversity in the Brigham City area so that they're not dependent upon the aerospace industry or something else. They've got another one there. ... There's so many pluses, it's just wonderful."

While a final decision about a Box Elder County location is still pending, Brigham City Mayor Lou Ann Christensen told the board, "We're excited about this opportunity."

Sherratt said that the Brigham City area, unlike many parts of the state, has water to handle a large manufacturing company's needs. "Actually, if you're going to put this someplace, this is almost ideal," he said. "It wouldn't fit in a lot of places."

Susan Thackeray, Box Elder County economic development director, said a P&G facility would help meet the goal of "keeping our children at home — to work, to live," rather than having them leave the area to find work.

Board member Jack Brittain, vice president for technology venture development and dean of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, said P&G brings many positives.

"I think the state of Utah, certainly Box Elder County, will find Procter & Gamble a real model corporate citizen," he said. "They are going to invest in the community."

He noted that the company would certainly spark the interest of graduates at the U. business school.

"It's a tremendous, tremendous company," Brittain said. "I hope that they come here."

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