Grillo’s Pickles makes Bartholomew County plant official
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Last year, Irresistible Food Group Inc. announced plans for a $54 million facility that would be built next to its planned King’s Hawaiian manufacturing plant in Bartholomew County, but the company did not provide details on what the new facility would be used for.
On Thursday, those plans were made official: the 155,000-square-foot facility in Taylorsville will be used to manufacture products from its Boston-based subsidiary, Grillo’s Pickles, bringing 150 jobs to the area.
Grillo’s Pickles said in a news release that it recently broke ground on the facility, located along I-65 not far from the Indiana Premium Outlets in Edinburgh.
“For our new production site, it was important to us to find a central U.S. location with a skilled workforce and supportive business environment,” CEO Adam Kaufman said in the release. “We are very excited to be in Bartholomew County, Indiana.”
Grillo’s Pickles did not provide a timeline for construction to be complete, but a filing with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. said the new jobs are expected to be added by 2028. The Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. said last year that the jobs would pay an average of $25.57 per hour.
The new facility will be adjacent to the 368,000-square-foot King’s Hawaiian manufacturing plant, which is also expected to create 150 jobs.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners approved a pair of tax abatement requests last June for the Grillo’s project, which is expected to save the company about $1.2 million.
The county has also pledged more than $4.7 million in funding to support water, sewer and road improvement upgrades in and around the project site. That investment comes from a combination of County Rainy Day Fund, County Economic Development Income Tax, and READI 2.0 funds.
“This project represents economic development teamwork at its finest,” Bartholomew County Council President Leah Beyer said in the release. “County Planning & Zoning, County Council, the Board of Commissioners, City of Columbus officials, local utilities, and our READI Regional Group have all pulled in the same direction to support the investments pledged by IFG, King’s Hawaiian and Grillo’s Pickles.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has also committed up to $1.4 million in conditional tax credits, which the company will not be eligible to claim until Hoosier workers are hired for the new jobs.