96 South Main Street, PO Box 77, Nephi, Utah 84648 - Voice: 435 623-0525 - FAX: 435 623-4735

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  • Development approves incentives for FiberTEK Insulation, LLC to build $32 millon Plant

 A $4 million economic incentive package offered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development was the needed frosting on the cake in order for FiberTEK to locate its $32 million West Coast plant in Nephi.
The incentive package helped the state beat out competition from Arizona, Idaho and Nevada.
Board member Bill Boyle described the incentives as “a seed investment. This isn’t just for one company but hopefully for a whole host of economic development opportunities in this rural area.”
It was agreed that a $1.25 million Industrial Assistance Fund grant will be awarded to FiberTEK once it has completed construction of its Nephi plant, hired its workers and begun production, said Mike Sullivan, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office.
That source will reimburse the company for costs associated with Nephi Power adding a new substation to serve the plant. The substation will also have capacity to serve other companies.
After the IAF grant is awarded, FiberTEK also will be able to request an Economic Development Tax Increment Finance, or EDTIF, rebate of up to $2.75 million, or a rebate on corporate, payroll and sales taxes paid for up to 10 years on a post performance basis.
During a GOED Board conference call to approve the incentives, Nephi Mayor Mark Jones said the new plant would provide jobs for residents who would like to work locally but have not been able to find work or who have had to commute or move elsewhere for employment.
“So we’re very excited about the prospects of having the additional job opportunities that would be a great opportunity for Nephi to have a company of this caliber to locate here and be a part of our community,” Mayor Mark Jones said.
Jones recently traveled to FiberTEK’s Florida plant and met with management, employees, nearby businesses and people in the neighborhood. “It was a very positive experience,” said Jones.
Other factors contributed to the selection of Nephi, including a skilled work force and proximity of the plant site to Interstate I5, said Jordan Radman, president of FiberTEK. The company will be hiring 99 employees.
“We certainly look forward to being a respected and contributing business to the Nephi community,” said Jordan Radman.
FiberTEK Insulation LLC is building a new 300,000-square-foot distribution plant in Nephi to serve the residential, industrial and commercial building industry in the Western United States.
The company already serves its clients in the East Coast through a 275,000-square-foot plant near Tampa, Fla.
The company is now hiring workers managers, production line workers, maintenance specialists, process and electrical engineers and accountants for the Nephi plant, which is expected to be completed late in 2008.
Jerry Oldroyd, chairman of the Incentives Committee for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board, said the Nephi jobs are expected to pay 45 percent above the Juab County median wage.
A positive for FiberTEK is the relatively lower cost of industrial property in Nephi compared with that of Salt Lake County.
“There’s just not a lot of affordable industrial land left along I-15,” said Tauni Everett, director of communications with Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
In a prepared statement, Jordan Radman, complimented the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the state of Utah and the Juab County economic development organizations as “progressive and professional organizations that have effectively portrayed the quality of the people of Utah and the quality of the business climate in Utah.”
“When KraftMaid Cabinetry moved to West Jordan, one of their wood door vendors, Conestoga Wood Specialties, built a 180-worker plant in Tooele County to support KraftMaid,” Sullivan said. “Likewise, we hope FiberTEK’s subcontractors or suppliers will locate there to support the company.”
Sullivan said the company will pay average wages of $30,855, 45 percent above the current Juab County median wage of $21,350. It also provides benefits including 100 percent-paid health insurance, matching 401(k) contributions and education programs.
The Governor’s Office estimates the plant will bring more than $36 million in new wages to Nephi over the next 10 years, while state revenues will be boosted by $13.2 million.
“This company will bring jobs to many citizens that previously had to commute north into Utah and Salt Lake counties. Now they will be able to stay in the local community and in the future many young folks who have grown up here and want to stay will have the opportunity for good jobs at home,” Jones said. “FiberTEK will be a good fit for the community.”
The business is family-owned with more than 40 years of experience in insulation technology and production. Separately, it also owns American Diamond Tool in Salt Lake City, a 50-worker company that makes drill bits for oil and gas exploration and minerals mining.
Founder Ivan Radman initially established a fiberglass insulation plant in Salt Lake City under the name of Western Fiberglass but sold in the mid-’90s to Owens Corning Fiberglass. After concentrating on building small fiberglass production plants worldwide over the past decade, Radman re-entered the manufacturing business in 2005 after a non-compete agreement with Owens lapsed.  
“The way I see it is, they’re using one company as a catalyst to jump-start a quadrant of this city that is vacant and bare land right now,” said Regula Bhaskar, board chairman.