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One-Page Profile of Primary Employers

Project Bowl – Frito Lay Scoops Expansion

The purpose of GO Topeka is to develop, promote and initiate activities that transform Topeka/Shawnee County into a world class community of choice, creating prosperity for business, labor and management.

Background:

Frito-Lay has been operating in Shawnee County since 1971. They are a primary business and also a major employer. The employees receive medical, dental and defined benefit pension and the wages are above the Shawnee County average.

Frito-Lay has invested well over $200 million into this facility and they continue to be a core business that is thriving in Topeka.

A brief outline of the project and its needs:

The Frito-Lay Topeka plant competes for the lowest cost production volume with other facilities in the central and southwest United States. In March of 2009 Frito-Lay approached GO Topeka about the potential expansion of the facility to include a Tostitos Scoops production line. This project was very competitive and time sensitive.

Topeka was competing with other communities across the country that were doing everything they could to get this project. Frito-Lay was looking to invest $45.1 million to install an eight TC scoops line. TC Scoops has been a high growth platform at Frito-Lay and has been the growth engine of Tostitos. This line would address high capacity utilization and put Topeka in line for future expansion down the road.

The growing trend in manufacturing is high levels of automization and Frito-Lay is no different. This project would shift packers and production workers from existing lines to the new Scoops line thus saving jobs and increasing wage levels for existing employees.

How GO Topeka facilitated the project:

As previously stated, there was intense competition for this project between Frito-Lay communities. With no job creation, GO Topeka could not offer any monetary incentives from the county-wide economic development sales tax but there were other incentives that were vital for Topeka to get this win. Property tax abatement on the new facility and sales tax exemption were keys to getting this win.

The GO Topeka staff supplied Frito-Lay all the appropriate forms and applications and then walked them through each one. Upon completion of the applications GO Topeka reviewed each one to make sure that all the data needed was provided. This helped eliminate the possibility of hitting any snags throughout the process. Once all the appropriate documents were finalized the GO Topeka team hand delivered them to the appropriate people along with any application fees that might be needed.

Sales tax exemption was granted fairly quickly through the Kansas Department of Revenue, but the property tax abatement is a little longer process. Once the Shawnee County Clerk receives the application a cost benefit analysis is performed. In the meantime, GO Topeka and Frito-Lay representatives met with the Shawnee County Commissioners on an individual basis to review the project and alert them that a property tax abatement request would be coming shortly. Once the cost benefit analysis is complete a review committee meets to make a recommendation to the County Commission. Staff with GO Topeka monitored this process and attended the review committee with local and corporate representatives from Frito-Lay. Finally, GO Topeka and Frito-Lay attended the County Commission meeting to answer any questions that may arise regarding the property tax exemption.

Topeka won the project and it was publically announced in June that Frito-Lay would be making a significant investment to expand its facility by adding a Tostitos Scoops production line. This was a tremendous win for Topeka and Shawnee County. GO Topeka and the Shawnee County Commissioners worked very closely with Frito-Lay to obtain an economic development exemption. This property tax exemption provided 100 percent tax abatement for ten years on the new portion of the plant.

GO Topeka did not provide any incentives from the county-wide economic development sales tax.

The GO Topeka Existing Business Program (G.A.I.N.) worked closely with Frito-Lay to finalize this project. Existing primary employers are a focus for GO Topeka and this project exemplifies that focus. This expansion secured jobs in Topeka and a number of employees received additional training which meant an increase in wages and skill sets.

The business climate in Topeka and Shawnee County tipped the scales in our favor for this project. The cooperation from the Shawnee County Commissioners was invaluable and ensured this expansion happened right here. Our collaborative efforts continue to ensure sustained success for our existing businesses.