OHIO TAX CREDIT AUTHORITY APPPROVES TAX CREDITS FOR BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECTS TO CREATE 270 JOBS FOR OHIOANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2004

Columbus, OH -- Governor Bob Taft today announced that the Ohio Tax Credit Authority has approved Job Creation Tax Credits for companies involved in business location or expansion projects, that if located in Ohio, are expected to create 270 jobs and retain 663 positions.

The Authority awarded tax credits to:

Universal Industrial Products (UIP), Inc., located in Pioneer (Williams County), has been awarded a 50 percent tax credit for a five-year term to expand its manufacturing and distribution operations. The value of the tax credit will be $31,282 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the site for 10 years. UIP currently manufactures valve lifters, steel backing plates for grinding wheels, thrust plates and lawn mower and edger blades. This proposed project includes the expansion of the Pioneer facility to include a new manufacturing product line of home and office door hardware. The $407,200 project would create 28 jobs within the first three years of the projects operation and retain 25 positions. Other state assistance committed for this project includes a $180,000 Roadwork Development grant and a $10,000 Ohio Investment in Training Program grant.

Liebert North America, Inc., located in Delaware (Delaware County), has been awarded a 55 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $361,479 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. Liebert designs, manufactures and markets a line of precision air conditioning, electric power distribution and uninterruptible power supply equipment for computer, telecommunications and industrial applications. The company has several operations in the U.S. and around the world, offering products under the names of Liebert, Emerson, Atlas and Control Concepts. Increased operational costs at its Irvine, California facility have forced the company to consider consolidating portion of that location’s functions to an existing Liebert facility. The company is considering relocating its California-based finance, R&D, engineering, product management and marketing functions to Delaware, Ohio or Mexico. The $3.7 million project would create 37 jobs within the first three years of the projects operation and retain 421 positions. Other state assistance that has been committed for this project includes a $300,000 Business Development grant and a $140,000 Ohio Investment in Training Program grant.

Univenture, Inc., to be located in Marysville (Union County), has been awarded a 55 percent tax credit for an eight-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $174,748 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the site for 16 years. Univenture manufactures plastic products used in the media packaging, storage and binder industries, and currently operates from a facility in Columbus that has limited space. To accommodate its planned expansion, the company is considering a location in Marysville where it would lease a 134,000 square-foot facility and is also evaluating a location in Kentucky. The $3 million project will create 56 jobs within the first three years of operation and retain 94 positions. Other state assistance committed for this project includes a $100,000 Business Development grant and a $40,000 Ohio Investment in Training Program grant.

Gateway Defender, located in Toledo (Lucas County), will receive a 60 percent tax credit for a five-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $175,242 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations in Ohio for 10 years. Gateway Defender was founded in 2001 to address the growing problems of SPAM, viruses and inappropriate content in e-mail systems. The company has achieved more than 700 percent growth per year and currently protects more than 150,000 users throughout the United States and Canada. Ohio is in competition with Michigan for this $500,000 project, which is expected to create 25 jobs within the first three years of operation and retain seven positions.

Bridge Worldwide, located in Cincinnati (Hamilton County), will receive a 60 percent tax credit for a five-year term to expand and relocate its creative advertising, graphic design and Web site development operations. The value of the tax credit will be $183,853 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations in Ohio for 10 years. Bridge Worldwide delivers technology-based advertising solutions for its clients, utilizing the Internet as a hub in many of its client programs. The company has competencies in marketing program creation and management, print advertising, interactive marketing, copywriting, design, consumer research and custom published content. Bridge Worldwide provides marketing programs for clients that include: Procter & Gamble, Schering-Plough, Tenneco Automotive, NCR, Kellogg’s and Ethicon-Endo Surgery. Ohio is in competition with Kentucky for this $325,000 project, which is expected to create 31 jobs within the first three years of operation and retain 50 positions. Other state assistance committed for this project includes a $25,000 Ohio Investment in Training Program grant.

Lexi-Comp, Inc., located in Hudson (Summit County), will receive a 60 percent tax credit for a seven-year term to expand operations. The value of the tax credit will be $214,832 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations at the site for 14 years. The company is a major reference and custom publisher of health information materials with a suite of products available on many platforms, including Web-based, handheld/PDA, CD-ROM and print. Lexi-Comp is considering this expansion of office space to grow its clinical, computer programming and sales staffs to keep pace with anticipated growth. The $2.3 million project would create 18 jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operation and retain 66 positions.

Cando, Inc., to be located in Marion (Marion County), will receive a 65 percent tax credit for a six-year term to establish a new manufacturing operation. The value of the tax credit will be $194,781 over the term, and the company would be required to maintain operations in Ohio for 12 years. Cando, Inc. is a subsidiary of Cando Contracting Ltd. of Brandon, Manitoba (Canada), which is primarily a rail contractor, specializing in running shortline railroads, constructing rail infrastructure, buying and selling rail components. The company also operates a lost-foam casting operation in Pierson, Manitoba. Cando Contracting is considering purchase of the former ANI Bradken Foundry in Marion and the equipment contained within it to expand the company's capacity to make lost-foam castings, which would be sold to the rail, automotive and agricultural industries. Additionally, the company plans to use a portion of the building to perform rail-contracting services consisting of switching, construction, and rail car repair services. Ohio is in competition with Alabama and Missouri for this $2.3 million project, which is expected to create 75 jobs within the first three years of operation. Other state assistance committed for this project includes a $40,000 Ohio Investment in Training Program grant and a $50,000 Business Development grant.

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.