California Company Expanding to Indiana

August 30, 2012

News Release

Evansville, Ind. -- PGP International, Inc., a global food manufacturer specializing in extruded ingredients, announced plans today to locate its first Indiana plant here, creating up to 41 new jobs by 2013.

The California-headquartered company plans to invest approximately $17.2 million to construct and equip a 70,000 square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Vanderburgh Industrial Park, a state certified shovel ready site in Evansville. Construction on the site, which will expand the company's production capacity and capability for specialty food ingredients and additives, is expected to begin by the end of the year.

"PGP International's decision to locate its newest facility here is a victory for southwest Indiana," said Dan Hasler, Secretary of State and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. "Our low-tax, business friendly environment led this company to choose Indiana over other high tax states. Projects like this are highly competitive which is why we've worked hard to ensure our state stands out against the competition as the most attractive place for business."

The Evansville plant, which is expected to be operational in summer 2013, will be PGP International's fifth manufacturing site in the U.S. The company will begin hiring production and support workers for the new facility later this year. Available positions will be posted at www.pgpint.com.

"Evansville was the perfect choice for our expansion," said Terry Doyle, vice president of operations at PGP International. "The site was selected from among dozens of Midwest locations due to the talented pool of highly skilled potential employees with manufacturing experience. We are happy to join local employers Toyota and Ameriqual in this hard-working community, and hoping to attract graduates of well-regarded courses in food science, manufacturing and engineering at nearby universities and colleges."

Originally founded in the U.S. in 1983, PGP International is the cereal and dairy specialties division of Associated British Foods, a diversified international food, ingredient and retail group with 102,000 employees in 46 countries. In addition to its headquarters in Woodland, Calif., PGP International has manufacturing locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and Missouri.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered PGP International, Inc. up to $320,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $105,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. Vanderburgh County approved additional property tax abatement at the request of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.

"Anytime the community leaders can announce the location of a new company in our area with new jobs, new opportunities for our residents and new opportunities for affiliated companies to look at our area for expansion, it is truly a great day. We welcome PGP International to our community," said Marsha Abell, Vanderburgh County commissioner.
PGP International's announcement to locate in Vanderburgh County comes shortly after Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from Farbest Foods to break ground on its new processing plant in nearby Knox County earlier this month. Farbest, one of the nation's largest turkey companies, has already begun construction on its new Vincennes facility. Once operational, the plant is expected to grow up to 600 employees over the next few years.

About PGP International

PGP International Inc. is part of ABF Ingredients and is headquartered in California with four manufacturing sites across the USA. PGP International's grain division specializes in developing a wide range of protein crisps including soy, rice, pea and whey, rice flours & blends. The dairy division is a top US producer of whey protein based ingredients including concentrates, isolates, hydrolysates and lactose.
PGP International has Global Food Safety Certification through BRC, Gluten Free Certification through GFCO and Organic certification through QAI. The Contract Packaging facility is certified organic, Kosher and registered in the NSF Dietary Supplements and Sports Registration GMP program.

ABF Ingredients is a division of Associated British Foods that focuses on high value ingredients for both food and non-food areas and comprises a range of ingredient companies which include AB Enzymes, ABITEC Corp., Ohly and PGP International.

The group has established strong market positions in cereal specialties, enzymes, esters, extruded ingredients, lactose, specialty lipids, specialty powders, specialty flours, yeast extracts and whey protein concentrates/isolates with locations worldwide.

About IEDC

Created by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Dan Hasler serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC.
The IEDC oversees programs enacted by the General Assembly including tax credits, workforce training grants and public infrastructure assistance. All tax credits are performance-based. Therefore, companies must first invest in Indiana through job creation or capital investment before incentives are paid. A company who does not meet its full projections only receives a percentage of the incentives proportional to its actual investment. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.

Source: Indiana Economic Development Corp.