Argentine Tile Maker May Open Plant In Florida

Yulee, FL, July 8--An Argentine company that makes ceramic and porcelain tiles may be bringing 170 jobs to Yulee when it begins manufacturing services there, according to the Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville. According to the Nassau County Economic Development Board, Ceramica Alberdi S.A. recently bought an abandoned factory and has been working with the county to develop an incentives program for the plant. The county approved a plan to offer a tax break, equivalent to $4,800 per job, to the company. Pending state approval, the incentives approval process should be completed within the next few weeks, said Ken Willette, executive director of the county board. Nassau did have an option to provide further tax breaks to the company, but as a rural county it exercised its option to give only state-sponsored breaks. "It's great news," Willette said. "It's an outstanding company, and it's a building that was very important to us economically and socially . . . and they are basically bringing it back to life." The 330,000 square foot building, on 38 acres, used to be a paper bag factory. It sits on U.S. 17 just north of the boundary between Nassau and Duval. The company shut down in 2000 and the building has been empty since, Willette said. "It's been a bit of an eyesore," he said. According to the company's agreement with the county, it will hire and train the workers for the tile production. Average salary will be about $31,000 or $32,000. Alberdi has three years to meet the 170 job requirement of the agreement. The company will remain headquartered in Argentina, but the county is dealing with Alberdi's sales and marketing office in Miami.