An empty warehouse in Buck Creek Township has a prospective tenant.
An empty warehouse in Buck Creek Township has a prospective tenant.
An empty warehouse in Buck Creek Township has a prospective tenant.

Sugar Foods Corp. made an introductory presentation Wednesday to the Hancock County Council Budget Committee, informing county officials that the almost 80-year-old company wants to make a long-term investment in the county. Representatives said the company hopes to invest $35 million and add 105 jobs.

Sugar Foods, originally founded in New York in 1948, has grown to include brands such as Mrs. Cubbison’s, ecoStick and N’JOY sweeteners, Concord Foods, Red E Made, Oringer and Fresh Gourmet.

The corporation employs 1,400 today and was acquired by private equity firm Pritzker Private Capital in late 2023. The company is headquartered in Villa Rica, Georgia.

Company leaders say that every second, approximately 2,000 people consume one of their products and that their products have been used from store shelves to fine-dining restaurants.

“Our strategy is really simple, and that is ‘the customer is king.’ And for us, the customer is our internal employees, the trade that we serve, our consumers and the communities that we operate in,” Sugar Foods executive vice president Sara Ribbler told county officials.

Sugar Foods looks to establish a food manufacturing and distribution center at Mount Comfort Logistics Center Building V, located at 2709 N. County Road 400W. The building, which has 753,000 square feet, was last used by a third-party logistics company. The new jobs would bring with it an average annual salary of $63,000 with benefits.

Chief operating officer Michael Harrison said the hope of the company is by September 2026, it would open the Hancock County location and begin producing crispy onions there. Currently, the crispy onions are being produced and distributed in a facility in Mexico.

“We’ve been looking to bring that (crispy onion production) to the United States as our business has grown, and we need the capacity to support that business as we go forward,” he said.

Harrison said Sugar Foods likes to manufacture and distribute its products at the same location so that it allows them to serve their customers the best. The company also plans to start distributing various items from its other American facilities to customers.

The corporation would like to bring more facets of its businesses into the building over the next several years, such as packaged croutons, fruits and nuts, and kettle cooking products such as chocolate, caramel and peppermint syrups.

Harrison said at its peak, the location would see about 50 trucks a day coming through on the inbound and outbound roads of the building. Even though the company plans to use about 400,000 square feet of the facility on Day 1, it hopes to eventually use all 753,000 square feet.

Sugar Foods is also applying for a tax abatement for over $35,000,000 worth of items that would be used to buy new equipment. Tax abatements are a tax exemption municipal and county governments can use to attract new industry into their area. This is done by exempting all or a portion of the new assessed value resulting from investment from the property tax roll.

The company’s Statement of Benefits Personal Property application says that $11 million would be used on manufacturing equipment that makes the products, almost $8 million on infrastructure equipment for tasks such as packaging products, and almost $7 million on other equipment such as raw material handling equipment and cooler and chiller equipment. The proposed tax abatement would be for five years.

Ribbler told officials Sugar Foods does not move around a bunch, and that it would be dedicated to being a community partner once it opens operations in the county, such as donating to local food banks, supporting community events and organizations, and engaging in workforce development to attract local residents for employment.

“We look to make a home. We look to become part of the community in which we are operating,” Ribbler said. “We’re very open to partnering in a way that’s meaningful and valuable to the community. That helps us get to know the community and the community get to know us.”

County council member Keely Butrum noted a common resident concern is that a company would leave Hancock County after its incentives lapse. Company representatives cited Sugar Foods’ tenure of about 25 years in Georgia, home to its headquarters and one of its four U.S. manufacturing and distribution centers.

Sugar Foods leaders also propose giving a $10,000 annual donation to Buck Creek Township Fire Department during the proposed abatement term. Company leaders are looking at an initial lease of 20-plus years for the building, though nothing has been signed yet.

Council member Scott Wooldridge said since the land the warehouse is on is zoned industrial, the company would need to go to Hancock County Area Board of Zoning Appeals for a special exception to allow food manufacturing on that parcel.

Hancock County Council will consider passing a declaratory resolution for the proposed abatement during its Sept. 10 meeting. If that resolution passes, the council will conduct a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for the council’s Oct. 10 meeting, for the proposed abatement.

County council meetings take place at 8:30 a.m. the second Wednesday of the month in Commissioners Court on the first floor of the Hancock County Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield.
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