Tasty $2.5 million project expected to create 25 jobs
By Kevin Leininger | The News-Sentinel
A $2.5 million expansion at a Fort Wayne snack food facility is expected to create 25 jobs.
Canada-based Saratoga Potato Chips LLC, which opened its U.S. headquarters at 6923 Lincoln Parkway in 2010, has 228 employees now but plans to spend $2 million on a building addition and $500,000 on new manufacturing equipment, creating processing jobs paying between $30,000 and $40,000 annually, according to an application for incentives filed with the Allen County Department of Planning Services. County Council is expected to consider the request Thursday.
Saratoga's sales have been growing, reaching about $85.74 million last year after $71.62 million in 2015 and $55 million in 2014. The addition will expand the company's manufacturing capacity, with construction expected to begin in July and end by summer 2021.
Saratoga's international headquarters are in Brampton, Ontario, and in 2010 the company announced it would occupy a vacant 138,000-square-foot facility in a $4.9 million investment. At the time, its annual sales were about $27 million.
If council approves the requested tax abatement, Saratoga would save $100,254 in real estate taxes and $10,761 in equipment taxes over 10 years while paying $233,926 in taxes on the building improvements and another $18,480 on the equipment.
