Area Development
A manufacturer of stone veneer, Environmental StoneWorks plans to invest $2 million to build a manufacturing facility in Washington County, Utah, that will create 124 new jobs in the southern part of the state.

The new facility, a manufactured stone veneer plant, will provide the company capacity to service current markets in the west, while also allowing opportunities for growth and increased market penetration moving forward. “With the continued improvement of the housing market and our increased presence in the Southwest markets, a new, larger facility in St. George, Utah, provides us a central location to service our current and future West Coast customers more efficiently,” said Environmental StoneWorks’ President and CEO Charles Stein. “St. George has great access to the surrounding markets and the local community provides a healthy environment for our current and future employees.”

“We are pleased to see Environmental StoneWorks increase its presence in the state,” said Spencer P. Eccles, Executive Director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “As the only national manufacturer and installer of stone veneer in the country, the company’s expansion will not only benefit Washington County, but also builders, owners and architects across the nation.”

According to the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, creation of the manufacturing facility in Utah will lead to over $40 million in new state wages and $2.5 million in new state tax revenue. Salaries of the new, incented jobs are contracted to pay at least 100 percent of the Washington County average wage and include benefits.

“The southern part of Utah is a great place for manufacturing; companies like Environmental StoneWorks can hire and attract talented people,” said Jeff Edwards, President and CEO, Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “I commend Washington County for putting together a compelling case for why Environmental StoneWorks should expand in the area.”

As an incentive, the GOED Board of Directors has approved a maximum cap tax credit of $514,304 in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance incentive, which is 20 percent of the net taxes Environmental StoneWorks will pay over the 10-year life of the agreement. Each year as Environmental StoneWorks meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the tax credit incentive.