Louis Dreyfus Company Seeking About $50M In Tax Abatements
October 9, 2020 at 3:52 a.m.
Louis Dreyfus Company Seeking About $50M In Tax Abatements
By David [email protected]
Attorney Steve Snyder, on behalf of Louis Dreyfus Company, Agricultural Industries LLC, said, “As you are aware, Louis Dreyfus is a significant player in the county. It has made a $200 million-plus investment in the county and wants to add more to that investment and create additional jobs.”
He said the personal property tax abatement being sought was for an investment of $17,563,000; and a real estate abatement for an investment of $35,813,000. “Both of these are a part of an expansion of the plant, not just personal property, but you can tell by the size of the real property investment we’re talking additional construction.”
The project would begin about Jan. 1, 2021, and be completed by Dec. 31, 2022, assuming things get back “to halfway normal,” Snyder said.
Louis Dreyfus has 117 employees and would add seven more as a result of the additional construction. Current salaries total $8,835,413 for the 117 employees; and the new seven employees would add $343,000 to that figure.
There would be construction costs and new equipment including logistics equipment of $150,000 and information technology equipment of $330,000.
“Total project is just over $50 million,” Snyder said.
He noted the Kosciusko Redevelopment Commission approved it Thursday afternoon.
Snyder said the county’s benefit of approving the tax abatements would be encouraging Louis Dreyfus to continue to grow in Kosciusko County.
“Louis Dreyfus is an international corporation. Several of these projects could have gone somewhere else, but the county incentives made this a very attractive place to make these expansions,” Snyder said.
“There will be, certainly, a generation of future tax income after the expiration of the tax abatement.”
The $9 million in salaries that will come as a result of this project and the existing employees will provide a lot of circulating dollars in the local economy, Snyder said.
Louis Dreyfus requested a 10-year abatement for personal property and 10 years for real property. The Council approved a resolution to have a public hearing on the tax abatements at its November meeting; at 10 years for the real estate and five for personal property. After the public hearing, the Council will vote on whether or not to approve the tax abatements and for how long.
Councilwoman Joni Truex said she appreciated everything Louis Dreyfus has done. She asked Louis Dreyfus Commercial Manager Jeremy Mullins, “This is just an expansion of what you’re already doing, correct?”
Mullins said they continue to add new processes, new growth to add value to the product.
“My favorite part about this, is everything we do adds value to the soybean which benefits the farmers. And not just in Kosciusko County – our footprint is much larger – but it goes right down to the farmers. So, as we increase the value of our product, we pass on the benefits,” Mullins said.
He said they hire a lot of contractors, and some days, Louis Dreyfus has more contractors than there are people in Claypool.
“But it’s also the trucking industry. Just today alone, we’re going to have over 800 trucks of soybeans delivered to our plant today. We’re breaking new records every day, and that’s a big thank you for supporting us in our other projects that we have. I think everybody’s seen the current project, it’s hard to miss, it looks like Lucas Stadium times two down there,” Mullins said.
He said a lot of people benefit from what Louis Dreyfus does, including farmers, truckers and more.
Council President Jon Garber asked how the new structure will be used. Mullins said it’s going to be to help add value to the product. Garber asked if it would be storage or processing, and Mullins said processing.
After the Council approved to have a public hearing on the abatements in November, Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell reminded the Council they didn’t approve the tax abatements Thursday, they were just approving to have a hearing on them.
Attorney Steve Snyder, on behalf of Louis Dreyfus Company, Agricultural Industries LLC, said, “As you are aware, Louis Dreyfus is a significant player in the county. It has made a $200 million-plus investment in the county and wants to add more to that investment and create additional jobs.”
He said the personal property tax abatement being sought was for an investment of $17,563,000; and a real estate abatement for an investment of $35,813,000. “Both of these are a part of an expansion of the plant, not just personal property, but you can tell by the size of the real property investment we’re talking additional construction.”
The project would begin about Jan. 1, 2021, and be completed by Dec. 31, 2022, assuming things get back “to halfway normal,” Snyder said.
Louis Dreyfus has 117 employees and would add seven more as a result of the additional construction. Current salaries total $8,835,413 for the 117 employees; and the new seven employees would add $343,000 to that figure.
There would be construction costs and new equipment including logistics equipment of $150,000 and information technology equipment of $330,000.
“Total project is just over $50 million,” Snyder said.
He noted the Kosciusko Redevelopment Commission approved it Thursday afternoon.
Snyder said the county’s benefit of approving the tax abatements would be encouraging Louis Dreyfus to continue to grow in Kosciusko County.
“Louis Dreyfus is an international corporation. Several of these projects could have gone somewhere else, but the county incentives made this a very attractive place to make these expansions,” Snyder said.
“There will be, certainly, a generation of future tax income after the expiration of the tax abatement.”
The $9 million in salaries that will come as a result of this project and the existing employees will provide a lot of circulating dollars in the local economy, Snyder said.
Louis Dreyfus requested a 10-year abatement for personal property and 10 years for real property. The Council approved a resolution to have a public hearing on the tax abatements at its November meeting; at 10 years for the real estate and five for personal property. After the public hearing, the Council will vote on whether or not to approve the tax abatements and for how long.
Councilwoman Joni Truex said she appreciated everything Louis Dreyfus has done. She asked Louis Dreyfus Commercial Manager Jeremy Mullins, “This is just an expansion of what you’re already doing, correct?”
Mullins said they continue to add new processes, new growth to add value to the product.
“My favorite part about this, is everything we do adds value to the soybean which benefits the farmers. And not just in Kosciusko County – our footprint is much larger – but it goes right down to the farmers. So, as we increase the value of our product, we pass on the benefits,” Mullins said.
He said they hire a lot of contractors, and some days, Louis Dreyfus has more contractors than there are people in Claypool.
“But it’s also the trucking industry. Just today alone, we’re going to have over 800 trucks of soybeans delivered to our plant today. We’re breaking new records every day, and that’s a big thank you for supporting us in our other projects that we have. I think everybody’s seen the current project, it’s hard to miss, it looks like Lucas Stadium times two down there,” Mullins said.
He said a lot of people benefit from what Louis Dreyfus does, including farmers, truckers and more.
Council President Jon Garber asked how the new structure will be used. Mullins said it’s going to be to help add value to the product. Garber asked if it would be storage or processing, and Mullins said processing.
After the Council approved to have a public hearing on the abatements in November, Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell reminded the Council they didn’t approve the tax abatements Thursday, they were just approving to have a hearing on them.
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