Wabash Valley Foods planning $63 million expansion in Dubois
Wabash Valley Foods LLC, a new company within the Wabash Valley ecosystem, would like to add a $63 million egg processing plant in Dubois to supply egg-based products to Tyson Foods’ Jimmie Dean brand.
As part of the expansion and investment, the company is seeking tax abatements on taxes associated with the property improvements and new equipment the company will purchase.
Andy Seger, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Sales for Wabash Valley Produce, addressed the Dubois County Council regarding the expansion the company is considering at a special meeting Monday afternoon.
“We signed a long-term contract with our customer partner, Tyson, to supply additional value-added egg products for the Jimmy Dean breakfast brand,” Seger told the council, adding the Jimmy Dean brand is by far the largest breakfast brand in the retail market. “This really represents a growth opportunity that doesn’t come along hardly ever.”
Seger pointed out that the owners of Wabash Valley have operations in Illinois and Ohio, and the level of economic incentives from the state and local government will play into the decision on where they plan to add the new facility. Still, they want the business to be headquartered in Dubois next door to the existing headquarters for the Wabash Valley.
“We love it here,” he explained. “It leverages our existing management infrastructure.”
Additionally, the company has an existing water treatment facility nearby to support the new plant, though, they plan on expanding it to support the new capacity.
The plan calls for the company to renovate and add to the remaining 54,000 square feet of the former Indiana Furniture Industries factory building that the Wabash Valley purchased in 2022. When finished, the new plant will be about 86,000 square feet. “It would be one of the very few types of plants like this in the country,” Seger added.
Product from the existing egg-breaking facility on County Road 450 North will be piped across to the new facility, where egg patties, scrambled eggs, and other egg products will be manufactured.
The new plant will initially employ about 31 new hires to support the highly automated and technologically leveraged facility designed for significant capacity for future growth. Though the number of new jobs seemed limited, Seger explained there would be downstream impacts with the need for new trucks and drivers to transport the product.
The target completion date of the new plant is October 2024.
“We’d like to start construction yesterday,” Seger told the council. “As soon as possible, once we know we have a reasonable kind of set of incentives in place.”
The scored abatement application supported a ten-year property tax abatement for the estimated $24 million in real property. The abatement would be 100 percent in the first year and then 95 percent in the second year. In years three through nine, the amount would reduce by 10 percent annually (85, 75, 65). In the final year, the tax abatement would be 10 percent.
The estimated $39 million in personal property qualified for a five-year abatement under the following schedule: 100 percent in the first year, 80 percent in the second year, 60 percent in year three, 40 percent in year four and 20 percent in the final year.
Councilman Mike Kluesner said that under the county ordinance, that is all they could offer the project regarding tax abatement incentives.
The council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the abatements for Wabash Valley Food LLC. The final approval on the tax abatement requests will occur after a public hearing planned for June 19 at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Dubois County Annex.