2018 CEDA Awards - Business Retention and Expansion - Category Finalists
Award Sponsored By Alliant Energy (Video sponsored by J.H. Findorff & Son)
This CEDA award honors innovative economic development projects where communities have successfully mobilized to help retain and potentially expand the operations of an existing business critical to the economic vitality of the community.
F I N A L I S T S : Duluth Trading Company - Mount Horeb Duluth Trading Company combined their Belleville and Mt. Horeb offices and invested in a new $39 million headquarters Mt. Horeb’s downtown. Through the creation of a downtown redevelopment plan and new Tax Incremental District, this project will serve as a catalyst bringing new businesses and jobs to Mt. Horeb’s downtown.
Duratech - La Crosse DuraTech Industries made the decision to expand in La Crosse. Their $7.5 million, 47,000-square-foot expansion was made possible with tax credit assistance from WEDC, as well as industrial revenue bonds and Tax incremental financing assistance from the City of La Crosse. Since the introduction of its new product line, the $35 million dollar company has had double digit sales growth.
Masters Gallery Foods - Sheboygan County Masters Gallery Foods looked to the Village of Oostburg to build a new Packaging and Distribution facility. Local and state elected officials helped to advance legislation allowing Oostburg and other Wisconsin communities that were “TIF-ed out” to raise the cap for tax incremented financing. This allowed for the expansion and the continued growth of their high-quality cheese offerings sold to retailers, restaurants and distributors throughout the country.