Two businesses receive tax abatements

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One of the largest egg producers in the country and a major pharmaceutical manufacturer both plan to invest money to improve their operations in Seymour.

Rose Acre Farms and Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals both received approval last week from Seymour City Council on requests for property tax abatement on projects totaling more than $22 million.

The abatement period expires after 10 years.

Kremers, purchased by Philadelphia-based Lannett Co. Inc. in 2015, plans to spend $20 million to purchase new manufacturing equipment to produce specialty generic medications and an additional $1.8 million in logistics and distribution equipment.

“It’s a pretty sizable investment,” Kremers representative Rich Arthur said.

“This is the first expansion that Lannett has done in Seymour,” added Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.

“I think this is a great opportunity in showing some confidence in our area.”

The project is expected to begin in September and be completed by the end of 2017.

Neither company is planning on adding employees as a result of the investments but will retain their current employment numbers, Plump said.

For Kremers Urban, that number is 620 employees, and for Rose Acre Farms, it’s 79.

Kremers is the third-largest industrial employer in Jackson County behind Aisin USA Mfg. Inc. and Valeo Lighting Systems, both of which manufacture automotive components.

Rose Acre Farms, which operates its headquarters on State Road 258 between Seymour and Freetown, is building a new corporate office at 1657 W. Tipton St. on the city’s far west side.

The company has outgrown its current offices, and being located within Seymour city limits provides new opportunities for growth, said Mark Whittington, vice president of risk management.

As part of that $5 million project, the company is planning to invest an additional $550,000 to renovate an existing building located just east of the office site.

That building was the former site of Al’s Heartbeat Cafe and Miss Luck E’s Restaurant and is now owned by Rose Acre Farms, which is using the back half as a warehouse for dry goods, such as boxes and other shipping materials.

The company now plans to renovate the front half to house its human resources and payroll departments.

“We will be moving our office staff to Seymour, and a portion of this staff will be housed in the front section of this warehouse once it’s renovated,” Whittington said.

Rose Acre Farms already has relocated seven jobs to the warehouse to help transition to its new Seymour location, Whittington said.

The renovation of the warehouse is expected to begin in September and wrap up by the middle of March 2017.

There will be no manufacturing or production of egg products at the new facility, officials said.

Rose Acre Farms started in 1939 as a small operation with 1,000 hens but now is America’s second-largest egg producer, with 17 facilities in six states. The company employs about 1,900 people and has an estimated annual revenue of $200 million.

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