OHIO TAX CREDIT AUTHORITY APPPROVES TAX CREDITS FOR BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECTS TO CREATE 598 JOBS FOR OHIOANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2004

Columbus, OH -- Governor Bob Taft today announced that the Ohio Tax Credit Authority has approved Job Creation Tax Credits for Ohio companies involved in business location or expansion projects. These projects are expected to create 598 jobs and retain and/or maintain 1,106 positions.

The Authority awarded tax credits to:

Basic Plastics, Ltd., located in Springfield (Clark County), has been awarded a 50 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $163,603 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. The company molds parts for the household products industry and performs molding for various applications. Basic Plastics intends to expand production to accommodate a contract for new parts molding and assembly work. The company plans to perform building renovations and purchase machinery and equipment. The $325,000 project is expected to create 83 jobs within the first three years of operation and retain 59 positions.

Value Recovery Group, located in Columbus (Franklin County), will receive a 55 percent tax credit for a six-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be more than $90,656 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 12 years. VRG is an Ohio corporation specializing in collection services for a wide variety of clients and partnerships. VRG, along with a partner firm in Virginia, are applicants for a new contract with a bank that would include the worldwide contract to collect on Approved Claims and Guarantees. The company will provide asset management, servicing and collection activities for the lender through this contract. This new contract will require VRG to expand operations at its current facility and purchase machinery and equipment. The $132,500 project is expected to create 15 jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operations and retain nine positions.

Delta Plating, Inc.(dba Olymco, Inc.), located in Canton (Stark County), will receive a 55 percent tax credit for a seven-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $53,065 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 14 years. Olymco is a certified source for electroplating critical components for the aeronautical, automotive, appliance and architectural industries. Its specialty includes processing large and difficult shapes, in part because of their 12’ plating tanks. The company focuses on mirror chrome, satin chrome, black chrome, and copper and sliver. The company plans to add new plating lines and upgrade existing lines to expand its customer base. The $295,168 project is expected to create 37 jobs within the first three years of the projects operation and retain 88 positions.

Wayne-Dalton Corporation, located in Conneaut (Ashtabula County), will receive a 55 percent tax credit for a seven-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $76,362 over the term and the company will be required to maintain operations at the site for 14 years. Wayne-Dalton is headquartered in Mount Hope, Ohio and is one of the three largest manufacturers of garage doors and related products in the United States. As part of its continuing strategy to diversify its product offering, the company is now preparing to launch a new line of specially patented, all-plastic garage doors. Wayne-Dalton plans to construct a 36,000 square-foot addition to its existing facility to accommodate the new product line. Ohio was in competition with Florida for this $5 million project, which is expected to create 37 jobs within the first three years of the products initial operation and retain 61 positions.

Global Body & Equipment Company (dba CNC Metal Products), located in Wooster Township (Wayne County), will receive a 60 percent tax credit for a five-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $84,055 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations in Ohio for 10 years. Global Body is a job shop market leader serving three markets that include contract manufacturing/job shop, commercial truck equipment industry and thermal plastics. For this project, Global Body is competing for a contract to assemble and fabricate large water cooler towers. The tax credit will assist Global Body in minimizing its project costs, allowing the company to submit the most competitive bid possible to attempt to secure this work. The project includes the expansion of manufacturing and assembly capacity at the company’s 72,000 square-foot building and plans to convert 24,000 square feet of that space into an assembly line to produce the product. Ohio is in competition with Pennsylvania and New York for this $720,000 project, which is expected to create 45 jobs within the first three years of operation and retain 26.

Formica Corporation, to be located in Cincinnati (Hamilton County), has been awarded a 60 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to relocate its headquarters operation from New Jersey. The value of the tax credit will be $600,075 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. Formica Corporation is the world’s preeminent producer of high pressure decorative laminates and possesses one of the leading brand names in the decorative surfacing products market. Decorative surfacing products are used for numerous surfacing applications including: cabinetry, millwork, countertops, vanities, store fixtures, flooring, cubicle partitions and furniture. Formica Corporation also manufactures and distributes solid surfacing products, laminate flooring products and industrial laminates, and distributes metal and wood veneer laminates surfacing and thermally fused melamine panels and related products. Ohio was in competition with Kentucky for this $525,000 project, which is expected to create 21 jobs within the first three years of operation.

L’Oreal USA, located in Streetsboro (Portage County), will receive a 60 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $258,957 over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. L’Oréal is the nation’s leading producer of beauty products that include hair care products supplied to the salon industry throughout the United States. These professional hair care brands include Matrix, Redken, L’Oreal Professional & Classic, Deratase, and Mizani. The company is considering the consolidation of its warehouse facilities in Solon, Ohio and Hebron, Kentucky to a new 649,250 square-foot facility. Ohio is in competition with Kentucky for this $9.5 million project that is expected to create 66 jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operation and retain 190 positions.

Consultants in Medical Information Technology, LLC (CIMIT), located in Toledo (Lucas County), has been awarded a 65 percent tax credit for a 10-year term to begin operations. The value of the tax credit will be $1.5 million over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 20 years. CIMIT is a start-up company that will provide Laboratory Medicine Consultations to the medical community in Northwest Ohio. The program provides pathologist consultants on select in-patient hospital laboratory test results and provides an enhanced consultation product in the outpatient (office-based physician) market. As part of this program, pathologist review outpatient lab test results within the context of each patient’s personal medical history and profile. The project will allow CIMIT to develop information technology to support the Laboratory Medicine Consultation program that will combine the various sources of patient medical data in a standardized template for efficient review by pathologists, and create the scalability of the program that is necessary to broadly launch these consultants in the outpatient market. Ohio was in competition with Michigan for this more than $1 million project, which is expected to create 74 jobs within the first three years of operation.

Education Loan Servicing Corporation, to be located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), will receive a 65 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to begin operations. The value of the tax credit will be more than $1 million over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. ELSC’s parent company, Education Lending Group, Inc.’s primary business is the origination of federally guaranteed student loans. The company also bids to purchase student loans in the secondary market as pools of loans become available and purchases non-federally guaranteed private education loans. ELSC will be a loan servicing operation for the parent company and serve as the company’s regional headquarters. Ohio was in competition with California for this more than $2 million project, which is expected to create 150 jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operations.

International Paper Company, located in Miami Township (Clermont County), has been awarded a 65 percent tax credit for a 10-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be more than $1.2 million over the term and the company is required to maintain operations at the site for 20 years. IPC is the world’s largest paper and forest product company and is a major supplier of printing and writing papers, paperboard, packaging products and wood products. The company plans to expand its Cincinnati Technology Center research and development operations. Ohio was in competition with New York for this $2.5 million project that will create 70 jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operation and will maintain 732 positions.

The Job Creation Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit against the business corporate franchise or income tax. The credit equals a percentage of new state income tax withheld on new full-time employees in Ohio. The Job Retention Tax Credit provides corporate franchise or state income tax credit for businesses that commit to retain a significant number of full-time jobs.