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Valmont Industries Inc., a Valley, Neb.,-based manufacturer
of mechanized irrigation systems that also manufactures poles, towers and structures
for lighting, communications and utility uses, cited Nebraska's Employment and Investment
Growth Act as one reason for its decision to build a new galvanizing facility in
West Point.
The Act provides the company income tax credits and sales and use tax refunds.
The state also helped direct federal funds, through the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, to the
project. This money will largely be used to purchase plant machinery and equipment.
"We are excited about becoming a part of the West Point business community,"
said Vincent T. Corso, Valmont's vice president for operations. "The new plant
will provide Valmont with much needed capacity for galvanizing our irrigation and
industrial products and for expanding our custom-galvanizing business to include
other manufacturers."
Business-friendly legislation
Besides the Employment and Investment Growth Act, companies looking to Nebraska
can take advantage of the Employment Expansion and Investment Incentive Act, which
provides credits to businesses that increase average investment by at least $75,000
and increase net employment by an average of two full-time positions during a taxable
year.
In 1994, the state passed the Enterprise Zone Act, which also provides tax credits
for qualifying businesses. ACI Telecentrics, Inc., a Minneapolis-based national outbound
telemarketing firm, cited the Enterprise Zone program as one reason it chose to open
a new telemarketing call center in Chadron.
Since 1995, Nebraska's Quality Jobs Act has authorized wage benefit credits to
new employees of approved companies that add at least 500 jobs and $50 million in
investment, or 250 jobs and $100 million in investment in the state. Also in 1995,
the state passed the Incentive Electric Rates, which allows utility companies in
the state, all of which are publicly owned, to negotiate lower rates for large business
customers.
J.C. Specialty Foods, Inc. benefited from the CDBG program, which makes federal
funds available to the state of Nebraska. The gourmet salad dressing manufacturer
will expand in Nebraska City, where CDBG funds will go toward operational costs and
new equipment.
Omaha is where the technology is
While economic growth continues throughout the state of Nebraska, it is moving
at a particularly rapid pace in Omaha, where technology is burgeoning.
In July, First Data Corp. broke ground on a $40 million, 280,000 square foot technology
facility. It will sit adjacent to the $70 million Institute of Information Science,
Technology & Engineering, a project undertaken by the University of Nebraska
and state businesses.
The dual projects represent a partnership of business, education, government and
the community-at-large that is designed to provide state businesses with information
technology workers, retain Nebraska's top students, increase employment opportunities,
and become a worldwide telecommunications industry leader.
Also in Omaha, MCI built a $100 million, 180,000 square foot high-tech Mid-Continent
Data Center. Prairie Systems, which provides integrated voice, fax, data messaging
and communications software and services, built a $3 million headquarters and 70-acre
campus
in Omaha.
Omaha's role as a telecommunications and information technology base began in
the 1940s, when the U.S. government built its Strategic Air Command nearby, where
it would lead the country's military response in the event of a nuclear war.
Basic attractions, such as competitive real estate prices and an educated work
force, lured more companies, and high-tech firms have continued to flow into Omaha.
Also, significantly, the state's industrial electric and gas rates are among the
lowest in the country, and its water supply is plentiful. Nebraska sits on 80 percent
of the Ogallala Aquifer, which contains more than six times the water found in Lake
Erie.
Omaha's businesses benefit from the same advantages other companies throughout
the state enjoy: no property tax on business inventories; no tax on intangibles;
a sales tax refund for pollution control equipment; no sales or use tax on sales
of ingredients used in manufacturing or processing a product intended for retail
use.
The state also offers the Skilled Training Employment Program (STEP) for on-the-job
training. The Department of Economic Development coordinates resources from STEP,
local community colleges and local Job Services and cities.
Nebraska's economy is rapidly diversifying, with manufacturing and service employment
outpacing farm employment. Stability is becoming a major advantage in the state.
Nebraska offers a number of attractive incentives. Qualifying nonretail businesses
investing at least $3 million in qualified property and creating at least 30 jobs
are eligible for a refund of sales and use taxes paid for the purchase of depreciable
property, a 5 percent tax credit on compensation paid to new employees, and a 10
percent tax credit on investments made in depreciable property.
-- Ann K. Morris
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