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Lindon manufacturer to receive incentive, plans to add 42 new jobs in rural Utah
Barnes Bullets Inc., a Lindon bullet maker, received a $200,000 economic incentive package to relocate its 53-worker corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant to Mona.
The $200,000 Industrial Assistance Fund grant offered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development sweetened the deal for Barnes Bullets to retain its operations in Utah -- helping the state beat out competition from Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota.
"We've had offers from out-of-state. We've also applied for the incentive under Juab County's economic development office and they are very anxious to have us in Mona," said Robert Mattinson, a controller with Barnes Bullets. "If we move there, we'll be drawing more employees from Mona and Nephi."
Mattinson said the company is still mulling the state's grant, which was offered last Friday. If the company accepts the offer, it will have to commit to keeping its operations in Utah for 10 years and pay its full-time employees average wages of more than 40 percent of the Juab County median wage of $21,350, said Mike Sullivan, spokesman for the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
The first $100,000 of the grant would be paid to the company after it has completed construction of its new 50,000-square-foot plant in Mona and begun production, Sullivan said.
The second half of the grant would be paid after the company has added 42 new jobs over the next 10 years, bringing its total work force to 95.
"We're planning to relocate to a 29-acre site in Mona by late summer next year. We want more buffer space around our manufacturing facility," Mattinson said.
"They wanted to be in a rural location where the plant will have less impact on residents," Sullivan said. "It's a perfect business for rural Utah because the company can easily get up to speed, start production and hire workers. Plus state tax revenues on the new jobs will be about $446,000, and about $1.29 million for all 95 jobs over the next 10 years."
The company is spending about $5 million to acquire the land and build its new plant. It is expected to bring about $13.3 million in new wages to the state over the next 10 years, Sullivan said.
Founded in Colorado in the 1930s, Barnes Bullets was acquired by Randy and Connie Brooks, and relocated to American Fork in 1974. The company moved to its current 30,000-square-foot location in Lindon in 1995.
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