A Utah technology company is expanding its headquarters in a move that promises to bring up to 1,000 new, "high-paying" jobs to the state.
Gov. Mike Leavitt on Tuesday announced that TenFold, which now rents space for its headquarters in Draper, will lease new facilities in South Jordan. Part of the deal includes a loan from the state's Industrial Assistance Fund. And after the jobs are created, the company will receive an incentive of between $1 million and $2 million, depending on how many new jobs are created. Each job would bring the company $1,000 from the fund to help with training costs.
TenFold (www.10fold.com) provides large, custom-tailored software programs to customers in banking, communications, energy, health care, insurance, investment management and other industries. The company currently employs about 700 people, of whom 200 are in Utah.
The expansion would create 1,000 new jobs in Utah over the course of the next few years, according to Glen Mella, vice president of marketing, and perhaps even more.
The incentive award, made over the next eight years, hinges on the corporation keeping its headquarters in Utah and on the fact that the jobs must pay well — at least 125 percent of the average Utah salary, according to David Winder, executive director of the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development.
In making what he called "an important and exciting announcement for the state," Leavitt said that Utah is an appealing destination for "new economy," high-tech companies for a number of reasons. For one thing, its work force is growing at a rate twice the national average. It is home to three major research universities. And the state has a high quality of life.
Mella hailed particularly the number of people with skills in software development, whether it resulted from formal schooling or on-the-job training in other tech companies.
As for the jobs, Mella said they would range from software engineers and developers to administrative positions and others. An entry-level engineer in TenFold earns between $40,000 and $60,000, he said.
The company is also attractive to employees because it shares the wealth with an employee stock option program.
The Industrial Assistance Fund rewards corporate expansion that creates higher-paying jobs that can support a family and make use of Utah suppliers. The loans can become grants if the job creation and purchasing commitments outlined in the loan agreement are met. It was created by the Legislature and is administered through the Utah Division of Business and Economic Development.
E-mail: lois@desnews.com