ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Using tens of millions of dollars in public grants, loans and tax breaks, Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. has announced it will replace its flood-damaged baby food factory in Canajoharie, N.Y., with a new plant in Florida, N.Y., 20 miles away. That location will also be the site of Beech-Nut’s new headquarters when it's relocated from St. Louis, Mo., according to company and state officials.
A $124 million investment by the company will be met with as much as $84 million in state and local incentives. The result is a promise by Beech-Nut to retain and relocate 356 jobs and create 135 more positions in the new headquarters.
The news prompted the New York Senate's Republican majority to call for more business incentives - $3.7 billion over three years. The Senate would use the money, mostly from budget surpluses, to cut taxes for small businesses and manufacturers, reduce energy costs for employers, cut health care costs for employers, create ''thriving Main Streets'' statewide, create a 24-hour help line for business operators to navigate through state regulations, and for more marketing of upstate's recreational and tourism offerings.
''We should have immediate results,'' said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, an upstate Republican. Asked how many jobs would be created, Bruno estimated 300,000 in five to 10 years.