Packaging Specialties seeks county support for $24 million expansion, 100 jobs
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Summary
Packaging Specialties presented a plan to expand its Fayetteville operations, seeking a sales-tax rebate ("tax-back") tied to equipment purchases; company representatives said the project would add about 100 jobs and $24,000,000 in investment while city and county officials described the incentive as a local economic development tool.
Packaging Specialties representatives told the Washington County County Services Committee that the company plans to expand its Fayetteville operations and expects to invest about $24,000,000 in facilities and machinery over the next three to five years, creating roughly 100 new jobs.
"We expect to spend about $24,000,000 additional on just the facility and our machinery," said Nick Gugliomi of Packaging Specialties. Marketing and economic development partners said the firm already employs about 240 people in Washington County and about 480 nationwide.
City economic developer Chung Tan described the local economic rationale for a sales-tax rebate, known in the meeting as the "tax-back" program. "This pays on an average of 50,000 a year," Chung Tan said when summarizing expected average pay for the new jobs. He added the tool is intended to keep equipment and related purchases in the county so payroll dollars are spent locally.
Chung Tan and Chamber representatives said the economic-impact analysis uses an employment multiplier of 1.56, meaning an estimated 56 additional jobs could be supported in the county as a result of the 100 direct hires. Chung Tan said, based on current employee ZIP codes, about 77 of the 100 new hires are expected to live in Washington County.
County Attorney Bridal Lester and other officials clarified how the sales-tax rebate is administered. Lester said the rebate applies only to qualifying machinery and equipment purchases and that the state Department of Finance and Administration administers the program and enforces performance guarantees. "If they don't hit that, then they could have to pay those taxes back," Lester said, describing clawback conditions tied to the state agreement.
Several justices questioned fairness and cost. Justice Massengale said he is wary of special tax breaks for individual businesses: "I voted against those. I want the taxes to be low for all the businesses in Washington County." Supporters, including Justice Pond and others, said the local economic benefit and job creation outweigh the limited sales-tax revenue forgone. County counsel estimated that if Packaging Specialties spent the entire $24 million locally the county's maximum sales-tax exposure would be approximately $300,000, though counsel said the actual county loss would likely be lower because not all purchases would be local.
No formal county vote on the tax-back resolution was taken at this meeting. Justice Dennis moved to pass a resolution (number cited as 2025) but later withdrew the motion and the chair said the company's request would be taken up later in the agenda under the correct item.
The county staff and city representatives said they will include the economic-impact report and additional details in the packet for any future formal action.
