MILWAUKEE _ The German giant that originated the gummy bear will open its first North American candy factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., bringing hundreds of jobs and nearly a quarter billion dollar investment to the rapidly growing area near the Wisconsin-Illinois border, Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday.
Haribo of Bonn, Germany, will invest $242 million in the plant and create 400 jobs there when the factory opens in 2020, the Republican governor said.
"These are well-paying jobs above market (salary) and they tend to offer a full benefit package," Walker said at a news conference.
Flanked by GOP lawmakers from the area, Walker said that the company has committed to build the plant but that the state is still finishing negotiations on an incentive package. Pleasant Prairie is also still negotiating the sale of the land, officials said.
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. chief executive officer Mark Hogan said that the state wouldn't be able to talk about the tax credits or other incentives being offered until the contract for them had been signed.
Haribo gets its name from the first letters of the names of its founder Hans Riegel Sr. and its birthplace, Bonn. There in the wake of World War I Riegel introduced the world to gummy bears, or as they say beside the Rhine River, "Gummibarchen."
The company is as iconic in Germany as some American candies are here, with a Depression-era German jingle that translates as "Kids and grown-ups love it so _ the happy world of HARIBO." The company, still led by Riegel family, has nearly 7,000 employees worldwide who produce 100 million gummy bears a day.
In a statement, Haribo officials said the announcement caps a long search for the right site to building a massive factory for continuing its growth in the American market.
"HARIBO has already been in the process of selecting a location for a first manufacturing facility in the USA for several years. In an elaborate process, we have examined many different sites. We are very excited to announce this important decision today," said Rick LaBerge, chief operating officer of HARIBO of America Inc.
The 400-acre site is being purchased by Pleasant Prairie for $37.5 million to be sold, in turn, to the company for that amount, Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff said. Streets, utilities and other improvements will be added, officials said.
The Kenosha area has attracted high-profile investments in recent years from companies such as Amazon that have translated into 8,000 new jobs, Walker said.
The governor said that Wisconsin has benefited from financial and political turmoil in Illinois as well as Wisconsin's relatively low debt levels and exceptionally well-funded and well-designed state pension system.
"Who would have thought years ago that having a fully funded pension system would be appealing ... from an economic development standpoint. But there's no doubt about it, it is," Walker told reporters.
At the news conference, Walker also touted the fact that preliminary figures show that the state unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in February, the lowest level since November 2000.
