Companies say new incentives led them to choose Idaho

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Two companies that received Idaho’s new Tax Reimbursement Incentives said that the tax credits were a key part of their decision to expand in Idaho.

Andy Kopral, treasurer of Amy’s Kitchen, which bought the former Heinz plant in Pocatello for a food manufacturing plant, said the company stopped looking at other options when it found out Idaho was committed to the company.

“They offered reasonable, fair and progressive-thinking incentives that, quite honestly, sealed the deal for us,” Kopral said. He also said the company was impressed that it took less than three months from buying the plant from Heinz to starting production on site, a span during which the company negotiated incentives with the state, hired workers, bought equipment, and received local permits.

Kopral spoke at a forum Jan. 13 that was hosted by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, one of many economic development groups that support the incentives.The TRI credits companies a portion of their income, payroll and sales tax for a number of years. It became law in July.

Amy’s Kitchen received incentives from the state worth $6.7 million over the next 15 years. In return, the company pledged to hire 1,000 workers and make $76 million in capital investments. Kopral said that investment will now be more than $100 million, since the company will install a new line to produce soups. He said the money the company received from the state will be reinvested largely in Idaho.

“The savings generated by the tax incentives don’t leave Idaho. We will use those savings to buy more equipment, create more jobs, and buy more raw materials from local sources,” Kopral said.

Fred Elsey, CEO of Diversified Fluid Solutions, which received state incentives worth $357,000 to expand in Boise, was supposed to present at the event but was unable to attend. His slideshow presentation, given in his stead by Idaho Department of Commerce Director Jeff Sayer, said that DFS picked Boise over options in Vermont, where its parent company is based, as well as Arizona, where it has existing facilities, and Texas and upstate New York, both of which offer rich incentive packages.

“They’ve been formidable to compete against, because they’re buying business,” Sayer said of Texas and New York.

The DFS slides said that New York’s incentives, which include tax-free zones for new companies, were the best they could find, but Idaho’s were “not the best, but reasonable.” The DFS slides also said that the most important factor for the company was having a good workforce. Boise fared well there, though the company’s slides said leaders were concerned that the low unemployment rate meant that it would be difficult to bring workers on.

Sayer said low unemployment has been an issue with other companies looking at Idaho.

“We had a project here that we lost recently, and we were devastated. It would’ve been the crown jewel for the state, before Amy’s of course,” he said, saying that a supply of workers was the reason given for passing on Idaho. “We lost it because their statement was they didn’t have enough confidence that there was enough workforce in the area. They praised the quality, but they were concerned about the quantity.”

Sayer said the supply of quality workers is now the most important issue for state leaders to tackle.

In addition to DFS and Amy’s Kitchen, seven other companies in the past seven months have received TRI deals with the state and local governments. All told, the companies have pledged to add 1,705 jobs in Idaho.