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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA United Kingdom-based manufacturing company plans to open a $106 million manufacturing facility and hire 140 employees in Lebanon.
On Monday night, the Lebanon City Council unanimously approved a package of tax incentives for London-based DS Smith Plc, which manufactures retail and industrial packaging and shipping cases.
The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, plans to build a 550,000-square-foot facility in the Lebanon Business Park, directly west of D-A Lubricant Co. on Edwards Drive. The park is just southwest of Interstate 65 and offers easy access to the interstate via interchanges at State Road 32 to the north and State Road 39 to the south.
DS Smith expects to hire 140 full-time employees earning an average wage of $22 an hour by December 2020.
The company estimates it will spend more than $31 million acquiring the land and constructing the building and another $75 million filling it with equipment, said Boone County Economic Development director Molly Whitehead.
The Lebanon City Council approved a seven-year real property tax abatement that will save the company an estimated $2.4 million. During that time period, DS Smith is expected to pay about $4.1 million in real property taxes.
The council also approved a seven-year personal property tax abatement to save the company an estimated $2.7 million. The manufacturer would pay an about $1.6 million in personal property taxes during that time.
Whitehead said DS Smith’s investment exceeds that of other recent economic development investments in Lebanon, including MonoSol, which announced earlier this year it would invest $72 million to build a 150,000 square-foot facility there.
DS Smith expects to begin construction next month and start hiring employees in November 2019, with plans to reach full employment by December 2020.
The company has about 27,000 employees and operates 250 manufacturing facilities across 37 countries, according to its website.
DS Smith entered the U.S. market in June 2017 by acquiring corrugated packaging company Interstate Resources for $1.14 billion. The purchase gave DS Smith 19 production sites in the United States.
Founded in 1940, DS Smith earned $373 million on $7.37 billion in revenue in its latest fiscal year.
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