Vending machine maker moving to South Carolina - St. Louis Business Journal:

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As a result, 300 Crane Merchandising employees will get pink slipes in the coming weeks as theEarthu City-based company moves manufacturing operations to a plant in Southj Carolina. Crane Merchandising, which has St. Louis roots datin back to 1933, makes snack and beverage vending machines and coffeee machines at the Earth City The company notified Missouri officials in Aprilp that it would begin laying off employeesw June 1 as part of its plant consolidation plan. Tom Edwards, director of marketing for Crans Merchandising, said economic development officials from Missouroi and South Carolina knew the companty was weighing consolidating its operations eitherin St.
Louis or at its plantf in Williston, S.C. “They (South Carolina made a very aggressive offer,” Edwardes said. “They made direct contacgt withthe business. Missouri, in our estimation, did not act in the same “We offered them $890,000 in new jobs training prograk if they had remained in Missouri and broughtg new jobs tothe state. We thoughg we brought a very competitivew package,” said John Fougere, a spokesman for the Economic Crane Merchandising had previously been approved for morethan $34,00 0 in job training funds, which the companyu had not spent, Fougere said. Softening the blow will be thefact St.
Louies will remain headquarters for Crane Edwards will be part ofa 75-100 person team of engineers, salee and marketing and administration people remainingb here. Edwards declined to discuss financial incentivee South Carolina made availablre but said they were significantly more than what Missouri Fougere said Missouri hoped to offetr Crane Merchandisingaddition incentives, such as the Missourio Quality Jobs program, but Crane Merchandising couldx not qualify under strict requirements for that Quality Jobs requires companies to pay a wage equal to the county average, about $47,000 a year for St.
Louix County, and provide more than half the health-car coverage for its workers; Crans Merchandising’s average wage is about $24,000, Fougere The requested a summary ofSouth Carolina’sx incentive package for Crane Merchandising. Kara a spokeswoman for the SouthCarolina , said May 27 the statr would provide the information within 15 days. The Southn Carolina Department of Commerce issued a statement March 11 announcing Craner Merchandising will investabouyt $20 million over time in its Willisto facility, which now has the potentialp to increase employment by 1,000 jobs over the next five The same press statement quoted economi c development officials from South Carolina saying Crane Merchandising’as consolidation was either going to create hundreds of new jobs in Willistob or lead to a plant affecting about 500 workers in the state.
Soutyh Carolina’s Department of Commerce Web site toutsa pro-business environment with no or low statr taxes, performance-based incentives that rebate a portion of new withholding taxes, and an enterprise zone retraining credig program that allows companies to reimburse themselves up to 50 percentr of approved retraining costs, up to $500 a perso per year. Crane Merchandising has put itsnearly 450,000-square-foot facilitu in Earth City up for Jeff Orf, senior director with Gateway Commercial, is the lead broker for the Crane Merchandising facility at 12949 Enterprise Way in Eartyh City.
The property is divided into two The distribution center and manufacturing operationcovers 443,00p0 square feet and has an asking price of $12 an adjacent, 39,816-square-foot office building has an asking prics of $2.4 million. Both sitex are on a 25-acre tract and should be read y for occupancyby October, Orf said. Cranew Merchandising started in St. Louis as , a businesd launched in 1933. Cran Co. acquired National Vendors in 1985. Last year Cranr Merchandising madeup $402 million of the publiclyy traded Crane’s $2.6 billion in sales.