Home » T. Marzetti Co. breaks ground on 220-job expansion in Hart County

T. Marzetti Co. breaks ground on 220-job expansion in Hart County

HORSE CAVE, Ky. — T. Marzetti Co. and local officials gathered in  Horse Cave on May 13 to break ground on the company’s largest-ever expansion, a 220-job, $133 million project to increase production of salad dressings, sauces, and other foods for retail and foodservice markets.

T. Marzetti originally announced the project in February 2020 as a $93 million, 140-job expansion. After last year’s pandemic put the project on pause, company leaders announced earlier this year their plans to not only move forward with the project but increase its scope.

The 184,500-s.f. expansion will increase manufacturing space and house eight new processing kitchens to increase dressing and sauce production. New equipment is being purchased and several packaging lines are being added to meet growing customer demand.

The expansion is expected to be completed by July 2022. T. Marzetti currently employs over 500 people at the facility.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in February 2020 preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $2.75 million in tax incentives based on the company’s originally announced investment of $92.8 million and annual targets of:

  • Creation and maintenance of 140 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years
  • An average hourly wage of $25.72, including benefits, across those jobs.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

Additionally, KEDFA approved T. Marzetti for up to $250,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development, and electronic processing.

In addition, T. Marzetti 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.