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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOne of the oldest meat manufacturing firms in the country plans to invest $43.5 million to build and equip a meat products distribution center in the Greenfield area, creating as many as 260 jobs by the end of 2016.
John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, intends to build the 426,000-square-foot facility in the Axcess 70 Business Park northeast of the intersection of Interstate 70 and Mount Comfort Road, according to a release Wednesday from state officials.
John Morrell plans to begin construction of the refrigerated facility immediately and should finish within 10 to 12 months, said Skip Kuker, executive director of the Hancock County Economic Development Council. The new, full-time jobs will pay an average wage of $19.51 an hour.
The firm specializes in meats such as ham, bacon and other pork products. It has 17 manufacturing facilities across the country, including a plant in Peru.
Hancock County officials have approved a 10-year tax abatement for the project, which is expected to save John Morrell about $5.1 million in property and equipment-related taxes, Kuker said.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has offered John Morrell up to $1.5 million in tax credits for the project, based on the firm’s job creation plans. The tax credits are conditional, meaning they cannot be claimed until employees are hired.
IEDC also is providing $250,000 in infrastructure assistance from the state’s Industrial Development Grant Fund.
John Morrell traces its roots back to the 1827 founding of John Morrell & Co. in England. It claims to be the oldest continuously operating meat manufacturer in the U.S.
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