As large as the Box Elder plant will be, its overall economic impact likely will extend beyond the facility itself. Such a plant usually results in supplier companies setting up operations nearby, sometimes leading to overall payrolls of three to four times above those of the original facility.

The Home Care group is adding capacity every 18 to 24 months and the Utah plant will be the smallest of what will be six group plants.

"The expectation is that this plant will be very successful, and if we're right, it has every opportunity to grow over the next 10 to 15 years to be much, much larger than this initial investment," Taylor said.

The 1 million-square-foot plant could serve as a gateway not just for expansion of Home Care operations. Taylor said he has discussed with another P&G official the idea of the Box Elder site being a site for expansion of another of the company's business units.

He cited P&G's experience in Mehoopany, Pa. That plant was built in 1966 with 350 employees and projections of perhaps eventually 600. It now has 2,300 workers and an economic impact to the community of more than $1 billion annually.

Taylor envisions the Box Elder plant fitting with the local landscape, and the building could have skylights and energy from solar and geothermal sources, he said.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com