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Pretzels Inc., 123 Harvest Road, is planning $7 million in improvements to its facility — upgrades on five lines plus backup equipment, plus repairs and an upgrade to its building.

Craig Anderson, the company’s chief financial officer, asked the members of the Bluffton Common Council Tuesday night for a pair of tax abatements on the improvements and the requests were approved unanimously. Anderson said the work should be completed by the end of the year.

He presented a list of improvements to the council on the various production lines, plus server upgrades and warehouse and distribution equipment. The total for that was nearly $4.9 million, and that was the subject of an abatement request for business personal property.

The other abatement went to the real estate improvements, at $2.1 million. The building needs roof repairs, he said, and it also needs new HVAC and air maintenance systems.

The improvements, the company said in a letter accompanying the abatement requests, will “make our plant more efficient and … expand production capacity in order to remain competitive and positioned for future growth.

“This essential project will also allow Pretzels Inc. to maintain our existing local workforce, currently in excess of 330 highly valued employees.”

The company does not say in either abatement request that it plans to hire any new employees. It lists the current payroll at the plant at more than $14.3 million.

The five council members — Carl Perry, Jim Phillabaum, Melanie Durr, Mike Morrissey, and John Whicker — all voted in favor of the abatement requests.

Article by Dave Schultz, Courtesy of the News-Banner