State tax credits bolster two area companies

Business at Boyd Aluminum Manufacturing Co. and Service Vending Co. has outgrown the companies’ current locations, and both plan on physical and employment expansion in 2010.

But they’re not accomplishing the growth alone. The two companies will receive more than $100,000 combined in state tax credits and add nearly 30 jobs as a result.

Boyd Aluminum Manufacturing Co., 3248 E. Division St., and Service Vending Co. in Aurora have been approved to receive tax credits from the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Enhanced Enterprise Zone program. Boyd Aluminum will receive $89,233, and Service Vending will get $38,455 in EEZ credits over five-year periods. The companies plan to add 15 and 13 jobs, respectively.

These plans come on the heels of Kraft Food Inc.’s decision to add 50 jobs to its Springfield manufacturing plant, aided by the nearly $400,000 Kraft will receive in state EEZ credits.

For Brad Squires, vice president at Boyd Aluminum, the tax credits were an added benefit for an expansion that already needed to happen.

“We were out of room to do what we needed to do, and it’s a very good time to add on because of the cost of building right now. Tax credits make it icing on the cake,” he said.

The aluminum window manufacturer will add approximately 34,000 square feet to its 60,000-square-foot building. The expansion, as well as the purchase of machinery, is expected to cost around $2.05 million. The company is in the process of evaluating bids, but Squires said he expects three-quarters of that total to be spent on the building.

The additions to the company’s 45-member staff will happen closer to the building’s completion date, which is expected in November, Squires said.

“We’ll probably start evaluating applications in late summer,” he said.

The new positions will be hourly jobs, with approximately two office positions and the remainder manufacturing positions, he said. Squires declined to disclose pay rates but said compensation would be competitive with other area manufacturing jobs.

At Service Vending, co-owner Tisha Fronabarger said the company plans to add 13 drivers within three years to its current work force of 33. One driver already has come on board and two more hires are expected soon, she said.

The bulk vending company operates in 26 states, and drivers spend most of their week on the road maintaining amusement vending machines that sell novelty items such as stickers and tattoos, Fronabarger said. Drivers are paid a salary and commission from their routes.

The company recently expanded its business by investing in crane, or claw, vending machines, she said, and likely would hire another two drivers to service those clients within the year. Fronabarger expects about $800,000 to be invested in new equipment, primarily vending machines, in the next three years. Adding sales staff is also a possibility.

In the past three years, Boyd Aluminum has introduced new product lines, including historically accurate windows for landmark buildings, Squires said. The three largest areas of growth are in blast systems, designed to withstand the pressures of potential terrorist attacks; impact systems that meet building codes for weather-resistance in coastal areas; and green systems, he said.

“Green and (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications for commercial aluminum windows are just now coming down. We’re trying to enter that market,” Squires added.

The new areas of focus have helped carry the company through the recession, when Boyd Aluminum’s core products – including awning, casement, double-hung, fixed and sliding windows – experienced a slump in sales.

“Core business was down in the past years, but coupled with the new areas, we weren’t as affected as we could have been,” he said, declining to disclose sales figures.[[In-content Ad]]