Barnes awarded $10 million incentive

An aerospace company was awarded a $10.1 million incentive Friday to entice it to move its current facility, relocate out-of-state manufacturing operations to Utah and add 900 new jobs over 20 years rather than move operations to Singapore.

The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board approved the incentives for Barnes Aerospace.

"They do high-end manufacturing of titanium and aerospace structures and making things for military aircraft," said board member Mark Howell. "These are really good-type jobs that bring good skills to the people who have those jobs."

The company would receive $1 million from the Industrial Assistance Fund — half upon completing the move of its existing Ogden facility into the Business Depot Ogden and half upon completing a relocation to Utah of an out-of-state manufacturing operation. It also could receive a tax rebate of up to $2.1 million over the first 10 years of the deal, contingent on paying new employees at least 170 percent of the Weber County median wage.

The IAF money can be recovered by the state if the expansion is not open for business by the end of 2008 or if new state revenue over the life of the project is insufficient to justify the combined incentives provided by the state, board documents state.

Over the next five years, the company could get another rebate of up to $3 million based on the creation of 600 net new jobs, compared with the previous decade. The five years after that, it could get a rebate of up to $4 million based on 300 more new jobs.

"Their biggest problem is they're out of space" in Ogden, board Chairman David Simmons said. "They can't grow in their existing facility and they want to bring more work in here. ... This is right in the sweet spot of what we want to incent."

Barnes Aerospace had sought $3.2 million in IAF money to move to BDO and $7.5 million to expand the Ogden facility. Board documents say the relocations would result in Ogden retaining 145 existing jobs and that the company's capital investment is expected to be $12 million.

Business Depot Ogden/Ogden City has offered a $1.6 million incentive in the form of $100,000 in free rent in an existing building while the new facility is constructed, $500,000 in free land and $1 million in no-cost building improvements.

But Singapore has put out an offer for Barnes that features a seven-year tax-free structure and a 20 percent corporate tax incentive. Utah officials said the Singapore offer is estimated at $20 million to $30 million.