Living Essentials, Inc., which manufactures the 5 Hour Energy Drink, recently announced an agreement to re-occupy the MarkHon Building in Wabash, Ind., a 145,000 square foot industrial building that has been vacant for many years. The company is headquartered in Novi, Mich.

Living Essentials has operated since July 2000 and it is currently the 34th largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer in the world, according to CEO Manoj Bhargava.

“Our products are distributed nationally and we are growing at a substantial rate.” More than one million bottles of Five Hour Energy Drink are sold each month at Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, Wal-Mart, 7-11, GNC and tens of thousands of other retail locations.

“We are happy to be in Wabash and we have made a very serious commitment by purchasing the site at 200 Bond Street,” said Bhargava. “The Economic Development Group has been most helpful, as have the Mayor and the City staff.”

According to Bhargava, the Wabash facility will focus upon testing of ingredients, weighing, mixing, and testing of the final mix. In addition, the site will include packaging, assembly and it will be the national distribution center for the finished project.

The company is expected to begin production on a limited basis in October.

“We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Living Essentials, LLC setting forth the terms of the agreement providing an incentive package under which they agreed to make this commitment and this investment into our economy,” said Bill Konyha, president of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County.

Konyha added that the project will create at least thirty production jobs, two maintenance jobs and four salaried jobs at the outset.

“The EDG recommended an investment of $100,000 of CEDIT funds in the project,” said Konyha. “This is a very small percentage of the total investment being made by Living Essentials, LLC but it demonstrates the City’s commitment to the project. We shall also recommend an abatement of 10 years on the manufacturing equipment to be purchased and installed at the plant.”

Konyha said that the EDG had completed an economic analysis of the incentives and that the Wabash taxpayers will realize “a 345 percent cash on cash return on its investment over the first 10-year period.”

The proposed abatement of property taxes must be reviewed by the Incentive Review Authority and approved by the Wabash City Council. The company will invest a minimum of $2,500,000 in the equipment. There is a possibility that a much larger capital investment could be awarded to this site.

“This business attraction project was a real team effort” said Konyha. The EDG led the effort but was supported by Wabash Realtor Elden Yohe who managed the negotiations to acquire the MarkHon Building. “Elden was tenacious, he really helped us to move this forward and we were in a very competitive situation.”

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