Home » Candy maker expanding in Erlanger, will create 70 jobs

Candy maker expanding in Erlanger, will create 70 jobs

$11 million investment

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 31, 2017) — Perfetti van Melle USA, which produces Airheads, Mentos and other popular candy brands, will expand its manufacturing plant near Erlanger with an $11 million investment, bringing 70 new full-time jobs.

The expansion includes improvements to the facility, purchase of new equipment, assembly of the new production lines and the hiring of 70 new employees in 2017, approximately 50 of whom will be Kentucky residents. PVM sales saw double-digit increases across the past four years. The project will support that and future demand by growing the facility’s manufacturing and packaging capacity by nearly 50 percent.

Perfetti van Melle USA, part of Amsterdam-based Perfetti van Melle, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of confectionery and chewing gum with nearly $3 billion in sales annually. The company has operations in 38 countries and creates imaginative products and brands sold in more than 150 countries.

The Northern Kentucky facility opened in 1984. The operation, which currently employs about 300 people, is the company’s North American headquarters and remains its sole manufacturing operation in the US.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in March preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $500,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

In addition, PVM can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. In fiscal year 2016, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for nearly 95,000 Kentuckians and 5,000 companies from a variety of industry sectors.