Prairie to Anchor New Business Park

Disposable-dinnerware company to build distribution center

By GILLIAN MAY-LIAN WEE, Charlotte Observer

06/21/05

HUNTERSVILLE - A disposable-dinnerware company will bring about 240 new jobs and $48 million of investment over the next five years as the anchor of a new North Mecklenburg business park, officials said Monday.

The deal to land Prairie Packaging of Bedford Park, Ill., is a symbol of the joint efforts of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville, which have agreed to share the $4 million cost and tax revenues of a 126-acre industrial park. The communities are trying to attract jobs and a corporate tax base to offset the cost of a growing number of homes.

Prairie makes plastic cups, plates, straws and cutlery for fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald's, and stores, including Sam's Club. Prairie is expanding from the Chicago area to set up an East Coast distribution center, officials said.

Prairie plans to start building a 250,000-square-foot facility in August and will start production within a year. Most of those jobs will be for machine operators, mechanics and electricians; on average, they'll pay about $34,000, with benefits, officials said.

The private company now has several factories in the Chicago area and several hundred workers. It doesn't publicly disclose revenues and profits. For the past two years, Prairie Packaging has been looking for a site, said Ben Shapiro, Prairie's vice president of strategic planning. His family owns Prairie.

It chose the Charlotte region over Jacksonville, Fla., because its work force is well-versed in manufacturing and because of its central Southeast location, Shapiro said.

He joined the towns' mayors and Anthony Copeland from the N.C. Department of Commerce in announcing the deal at Huntersville Town Hall. Prairie doesn't have plans to move production overseas, he said, because most of its products can be made more efficiently domestically and shipping costs are fairly high.

By creating the 242 announced jobs and investing $48 million over five years, Prairie would receive $1.45 million in income tax incentives from the state -- if it keeps the jobs for at least a decade.

Over the next decade, Prairie could create as many as 400 jobs, with an $80 million investment in a 700,000-square-foot plant, said Mark Heath, director of the Lake Norman Regional Economic Development Corp. The company could qualify for an additional $2.5 million in property tax rebates from the city of Huntersville and the county over 10 years, he said.

Job applicants can call Carolyn Mays at Concord's Employment Security Commission at (704) 786-3183.