Swire Pacific Holdings Inc. has decided Utah is the real thing.
President Craig Taylor said Wednesday the company, which produces and distributes Coca-Cola products and other soft drinks throughout the West, will build its regional headquarters and a bottling plant in Draper."We looked at 10 Western states and decided to stay in Utah. We're absolutely delighted with the business environment here," Taylor said. "In Draper, there is a rail spur for us, we're close to the freeway, and it's a community that wanted us to come."
Swire will build its corporate offices, computer center and at least one 300,000-square-foot processing plant - possibly two - on 100 acres in the Draper Industrial Park.
Taylor said Swire's sales centers in Provo and Salt Lake City, where its corporate offices are currently located, and its production center in West Valley will all be consolidated in Draper.
Employees from the three facilities will be reassigned in Draper and no jobs will be lost, Taylor said. More could be created, in fact, if Swire obtains contracts to produce juices and make syrups for fountain drinks in addition to bottling carbonated drinks, he said. Depending on those negotiations, the Draper facility could employ between 300 and 500 people, he said.
Taylor said design plans should be completed within several months and construction could begin this spring. The company's goal is to move into its new headquarters by the spring of 1996 and open the production facility shortly thereafter.
Draper officials aren't certain exactly what the economic impact of Swire's decision will be.
"Some of the benefit is strictly having them here and having employment for our people," said Mayor Elaine Redd. "We'll get tax revenue off their vehicles and, hopefully, the employees will spend money here. It could have a snowball effect."
Swire officials said as many as 130 trucks would come in and out of the facility per day, although they would not be routed through Draper.
"This is not a real revenue generator because it's not retail sales," said Debby Wilson, the city's economic development director. "But it could be from spinoffs and from expenditures of employees and the recognition (Coca-Cola) will bring Draper."
Swire's decision has already prompted additional inquiries, Wilson said.
"We are seeing quite a few other parties interested in Draper when it comes to food processing, and what we need to evaluate is whether food processing is something we want to continue to make a little go at," she said.
Wilson said the credit for luring Coke to Draper should go to Terry Diehl and his associates, who bought, developed and have now sold all 132 acres in the Draper Industrial Park.
Diehl, president of Wasatch Pacific and a partner in the South Mountain residential development, said Swire's commitment certainly won't hurt sales of South Mountain lots. The $20 million 349-lot first phase of the development, co-owned by Christiansen Construction Services, is under way.
"We sold (Swire) the land for less than what the market (value) was, and I guess you could say maybe that was stupid, but we've got an 1,800-lot planned community that is a long-term development, and we feel it definitely benefited that development," Diehl said. "We worked very closely with the city and City Council in trying to entice Coke to come here."
Only two tenants of the industrial park, located at 12300 South and 400 West, have begun construction. Berger Inc., a drywall and stucco contractor, could be moved in by the end of December, Diehl said. J&S Mechanical Contractors Inc., which is building an office and warehouse, could open shop by early February, he said.
Others who have purchased land there include Jenson Lumber Service Inc., Utah Tile & Roofing Inc., Back to Basics, Richard Nielson, Brimhall Electric Co. and a T-Shirt manufacturing company called Attitude.
Swire's plans have been approved by the Draper Planning Commission. The land sale was finalized earlier this month.