Genpak, LLC, a leading Canadian manufacturer of foodservice packaging items, expects to invest over $22 million in a new plant and equipment in Cedar City, Utah, to help meet the demands of its West Coast customer base.

The company is considering the purchase of an additional 215,000-sq.-ft. warehouse here to expand its capacity. Initially the new location will serve as a warehouse and distribution operation; plans call to to add manufacturing capabilities in the near future. Specifically, over the next five years the expansion is expected to add about 125 jobs to the current operation now employing 181 people. The project will offer an average pay of nearly 150 percent of the Iron County average wage.

With help from the local community, Utah offered Genpak a single taxpayer, post-performance incentive of $114,813 as a tax credit over five years, according to state officials. Over the lifetime of the five-year incentive, Genpak will pay about $15 million in new wages and more than $575,000 new state taxes over the same period.

This is the firm's fifth expansion since 1994. "Since opening their first facility in our community, Genpak has been one of our strongest companies, offering a stable work environment and highly competitive salaries to their employees," said Cedar City Mayor Joe Burgess.

VP of Operations Tim O'Connor said the company has enjoyed "a strong partnership" with the city, state and county in the past 15-plus years it has been in Utah, their support has helped Genpak continue to grow. "Our workforce in Utah is second to none," he noted, "and we hope to remain a strong employer in this area for many years to come."

Established in 1969, Genpak is a food packaging manufacturer producing products for the foodservice, retail, municipal and industrial markets. It operates 17 plants (12 in the U.S., five in Canada) and employs 2,200 system-wide. Genpak is owned by the Jim Pattison Group, the third-largest private company in Canada. Pattison owns companies with divisions in diverse industries (e.g., automotive, entertainment, food, media, packaging) and has over 33,000 employees.