Procter & Gamble selects Utah for paper-products plant

Procter & Gamble Co. on Wednesday announced that it will build a paper-products manufacturing plant in unincorporated Box Elder County.

Procter & Gamble Family Care said the facility will include a new paper machine, converting lines and warehouse space. Groundbreaking is expected in early 2008 with the new paper machine starting up in early 2010.

The Box Elder county plant is expected to be about an initial $300 million investment with approximately 300 employees.

"Utah is proud that Procter & Gamble has chosen to locate its newest manufacturing plant here," Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said in a prepared statement. "It's been an honor for me over the past several months to get to know many from the P&G team. I look forward to officially welcoming one of America's top corporate citizens to the state of Utah."

"Procter & Gamble is excited to be joining the community of Box Elder County, Utah," Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh, president of P&G Family Care, said in a prepared statement. "We are looking forward to working in partnership with this community for a long time. This facility will increase the number of skilled jobs available in northern Utah while enabling P&G to better serve consumers in western U.S."

The announcement came eight days after the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board approved a potential $85 million tax-rebate incentive to try to land the plant, which could have 1,000 employees a decade from now.

Members of the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board said last week that Utah was competing with at least two other states for the company's operations, which are expected to ramp up to 500 employees by the year 2012, 900 by 2018 and 1,000 by 2028.

The state incentive is tied to employee pay, they said, although projected wages are more than twice the county median of $21,694.

State documents indicated the plant would represent a $540 million capital investment, including $315 million in the project's first phase.

The facility would be in a current "greenfield" site and would be part of P&G's paper products division, which produces Bounty paper towels, Charmin toilet tissue and Puffs tissue.

Board Chairman Ragula Bhaskar said last week that P&G also was considering adding capacity at plants in Missouri or California rather than constructing a Utah facility.