The process of transforming that vacant, once-busy, large blue building in Seelyville into a thriving business again took a giant step this week.
During its monthly meeting Tuesday evening, the Seelyville Town Council unanimously approved two property tax abatements for Saturn Petcare, a pet-food company founded in 1987 and based in Bremen, Germany.
Saturn Petcare is considering the purchase of the former Kellogg’s/Keebler plant and 38-acre property, located at 9445 E. U.S. 40. Keebler, the current owner, ceased operations at that location in the summer of 2017.
“Each abatement spans 10 years,” Seelyville town marshal Brent Spier explained. “The first one is for $12 million on property value real estate ... with the first year being no taxes and then taxes phased in at 10 percent per year following that. So at the end of 10 years, it’s back to 100-percent tax.
“The second one is a personal property abatement, and that one is $25 million. It’s on all their proprietary equipment that they have to bring in to actually produce the pet products. The format is the same as the property tax abatement.”
Spier said there were people at the meeting concerned about odors emanating from the plant if Saturn Petcare takes over, but promises were made that indicated that would not be an issue.
“They have two other plant locations that do the same thing,” he mentioned. “One is in at their headquarters in Germany. The other one is in Holland. The one that’s in Holland is located in a very densely populated area inside a city. They use the same process [that would be used here if the purchase from Keebler takes place] and they’ve reported no complaints about odors.
“As the company representative explained to us, you do see steam that appears to look like smoke. But it’s actually steam vapor that comes off the plant and that comes from a steam sterilization area where they do the final seal and sterilize the product. All of the odors are contained within the process.”
If the purchase becomes reality, construction/remodeling would begin in 2019 and the plant would open in 2020.
As stated in February, Saturn Petcare expects to employ up to 200 people within the next five years. Most positions would involve factory production.
Next up for Saturn Petcare, in addition to finalizing a purchase agreement, is acquiring an additional equipment incentive being proposed by the Vigo County Council. That is likely to be acted on April 10.
“Everybody’s happy at this point,” said Terre Haute attorney Louis Britton, representing Saturn Petcare. “They’ll have to do their due diligence on the real estate. But assuming that goes through, it should be in good shape.”
“We’re encouraged by it,” Spier added. “It’s good for Seelyville. It’s good for the surrounding area, especially in light of jobs being lost elsewhere in the area. There are people who want these jobs and are happy to do them. ... I think it’ll be a win-win for Saturn and also the local economy.”
Since the mid-1950s, this building has housed Miller- Parrott Baking Co., Pillsbury, American Baking Co., IndyBake and Kelloggs/Keebler.