Goldfish cracker expansion to create 54 Cache County jobs (and happy kids)

For Cache County, it pays to work for crackers.

Commercial baker Pepperidge Farm Inc. plans to create 54 new jobs in Richmond beginning in 2014 because of increased demand for its Goldfish crackers.

The Cache County facility was chosen to receive expansions to increase Goldfish production over Pepperidge’s three other facilities in Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio.

The project will last 10 years, in which the company expects to invest up to $45 million in capital improvements.

Utah was selected because of its “competitive location, highly skilled workforce and operational excellence,” according to a recent press release from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

“Our popular Goldfish products enjoy one of the strongest growth rates in our company, and we expect that success to continue,” said Pat Callaghan, president of Pepperidge Farm in a statement. “And after almost 40 years of productive operation at our Richmond Plant, we are very pleased to continue and expand this outstanding partnership with Cache County.”

More than crackers will come from the Richmond expansion. Local leaders have rejoiced over the jobs introduced by Pepperidge’s expansion.

“The impact of a jobs expansion in a rural area like Cache County cannot be overstated,” said Spencer Eccles, executive director of GOED in a statement. “The effects of the jobs created at Pepperidge Farm’s Richmond facility will be felt immediately and will live on well past the project’s 10-year duration. I expect that the economy of the entire region will see a significant bump in the coming years in particular.”

The 54 jobs created by the expansion will pay more than $18.9 million in new state wages.

The GOED Board of Directors authorized a 10-year refundable tax credit of more than $475,000 over the course of the project.

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