TYLER — The City of Tyler has John Soules Food, Sanderson Farms and now an expanded version of the Hiland Dairy Foods Co.
"So Tyler's really developing a niche for food manufacturing, food processing with making products that will be shipped all over the country," Tom Mullins, Economic Development Council president, said.
Hiland began looking to expand in the East Texas area a year and a half ago.
To help bring them to Tyler, Brookshire’s encouraged the company to buy some of their facilities instead of building one elsewhere.
"Hiland ended up buying the Brookshire facilities on E. Erwin which is where their dairy operations are, their ice cream facility up by U.S. Highway 271 by the interstate, interstate 20 and then they have a water bottling facility over on the Brookshires campus Old Jacksonville on the Loop," Mullins said.
However, the facilities will need to expand and be upgraded. So to help with the deal, the Tyler city council approved today to give Hiland a tax abatement.
The tax abatement will waive property taxes for 5.5 years.
"We're only abating their new investment,” said Mullins. “All the facilities that are currently there will continue to pay taxes and operate as usual."
Mullins said the tax abatement helped commit Hiland.
“It’s just all come together so now they have committed to staying here adding new production capacity, keeping 74 jobs, spending $45 million on upgrades and adding 80 new jobs,” Mullins said.