PRINCETON—A biomass producer that recycles wood and other organic waste into renewable products plans to locate on former Peabody Coal property north of Buckskin.
Gibson County council members unanimously Monday morning approved a five-year real estate and personal property tax abatement as an incentive for Borden-based Koetter & Smith to locate along the I-69 corridor in Gibson County’s Barton Township.
Gibson County Economic Development Corp. CEO Todd Mosby said in a news release that the ag-related business is the first industrial partner for the county in the I-69 corridor. He said the company recycles wood and other organic waste into products such as bedding for poultry and equine industries. The company will also produces mulch and compost.
The county’s tax incentive allows a $49,888 reduction in property taxes for the company over five years, while the company pays $40,430 in taxes during those years, then roughly $13,080 each year in property taxes when the abatement ends.
In exchange, the company expects to invest nearly $3 million in local operations and hire five to eight people locally.
Mosby said the starting pay for production would range from $12 to $23 per hour, and the company pays an average $330 per month toward employee health insurance. Company members also are eligible for quarterly bonuses, he reported.
The company’s Borden facility employs 70 people in a 170,000 square feet plant similar in size to the former Orion building along U.S. 41 in Gibson County, according to Mosby.
Founded in 1974, the company also produces and markets bulk boiler fuels and fuel pellets for residential use.
Mosby said the local facility could provide a local outlet for a variety of area companies needing disposal alternatives that keep wood and other organic waste out of landfills.