Tyler City Council Approves Tax Abatement
Posted/updated on: June 13, 2013 at 2:10 pm
TYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday approved a tax abatement agreement with Hood Flexible Packaging Corporation, a manufacturer and supplier of heavy duty plastic shipping sacks. The agreement allows for a three-year 100 percent abatement for a $12 million investment that could result in 12 to 15 new jobs in Tyler.
Located at 2410 N. Lyndon Avenue, adjacent to Carrier in northeast Tyler, Hood is privately owned with headquarters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Formerly known as Bonar Packaging, Inc., Hood is the largest heavy duty plastic shipping sack producer in North America, according to city officials. Products produced in the Tyler facility are shipped to all areas of the continental United States, with about 75 percent going outside the state of Texas.
In 1991, the outmoded Bonar plant was being considered for closure, which would have meant the loss of the existing 265 jobs, officials say. Tax abatement was used to persuade Hood to approve $11 million for an upgrade of the Tyler operations. Hood purchased Bonar Packaging, Inc. in 2000. Since then, $18.2 million has been invested in major capital projects. Employment increased from 85 in 2001 to 111 in 2007. Hood Tyler was awarded an abatement for a $4 million investment in 2007. The Tyler plant is now the most profitable of the eight Hood locations in the United States. In 2009 and 2011, the plant was awarded Plant of the Year. Late last year, the plastic division was consolidated and titled Industrial Plastics Group, which has proposed plans for a significant expansion at the Tyler plant.
Production and environmental equipment installation will begin immediately, culminating in March 2014. Investment is projected to be about $12 million, and includes some supporting projects to be handled by local contractors. In terms of net payroll, local purchases, and tax payments, Hood currently contributes $6.8 million annually to the local economy, according to city officials. With the planned expansion, officials say, the new jobs created would add approximately $700,000 to Hoods annual payroll. The average hourly rate starts at $17.75 and increases to $18.10 after one year, plus full benefits. Local vendors, which include A&R Pallets LLC, Action Tech Maintenance Service, Dixie Paper Company, Cannon Steel, and Mackie Jones Trucking, provided approximately $2.5 million of goods and services in 2012.
