Packaging company TemperPack, others receive Nevada tax abatements
Sustainable packaging company TemperPack’s largest customers are meal kit e-commerce companies, which use their product to make sure food is kept cool while in transit to customers’ homes.
Co-founder and co-CEO James McGoff said he has bigger plans for his company’s future and believes Las Vegas can help the company reach its goals.
“We’re getting into the life sciences space,” McGoff said, with TemperPack products being used to keep pharmaceutical items like vaccines cool. “The company’s in the stage of heavy expansion, and having a West Coast manufacturing presence (in Las Vegas) is very strategic to that vision.”
On Thursday, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development awarded the company $570,811 in tax abatements to help facilitate its growth in Nevada.
A catalyst for growth
Virginia-based TemperPack was founded in 2015 and sells sustainable packaging products that can be used as an alternative to Styrofoam.
Three college students started the company in a garage, and TemperPack has since grown to a staff of more than 300, with eight facilities and a 150 percent annual growth rate.
Some of the company’s clients include meal delivery services HelloFresh and Purple Carrot, as well as such pharmaceutical companies as Albertsons and Diplomat Pharmacy.
McGoff said the company looked into other areas to expand its manufacturing, but it was drawn to Las Vegas’ friendly business climate.
Tax abatements were “a huge factor in our decision,” he said. “It’s a catalyst to grow faster.”
The company already has a fulfillment center in Las Vegas near East Craig Road and North Lamb Boulevard, but this expansion would bring in manufacturing operations to the state for its patented ClimaCell packaging product.
Hank Heyming, general counsel at TemperPack, said Las Vegas’ proximity to California and Utah was another incentive to expand in Nevada because California and Utah house a large number of pharmaceutical companies.
Heyming expects the company’s growth and in-state hiring will play a role in Nevada’s economic growth.
“I met with the (UNLV) engineering school there, and they’re pretty excited,” he said. “All of them were super excited to keep STEM talent in Nevada.”
In return for the tax abatements, TemperPack would provide $6,733,162 in new tax revenue over the next 10 years. It would hire at least 33 employees in the next year with an average wage of $23.45, and is looking to hire engineers, skilled machine operators, management and more.
In other action Thursday, the economic development office approved $2.5 million in tax abatements for existing, expanding and new Nevada companies in return for more than $53 million in total tax revenue. $1.5 million was awarded to companies in Southern Nevada.
Nikkiso Cryo, Inc.
Awarded tax abatements: $360,895
Anticipated capital investment: $4,879,875
Nikkiso Cryo Inc. is planning to expand its facility in North Las Vegas. The company develops, manufactures, engineers, and tests cryogenic pumps for liquefied natural gas. The project would include building improvements, new equipment and new hires; the company said it would hire 29 employees over the next year at an average hourly wage of $29.83.
Wilen Vegas, LLC
Awarded tax abatements: $537,382
Anticipated capital investment: $4,956,306
Marketing communication company Wilen Vegas has plans to establish a facility in Las Vegas, targeting markets west of the Mississippi River. It is set to begin operations in June. The company said it wants to hire local employees, and would hire 50 people in the first three years at an average hourly rate of $23.22.
WinTech LLC
Awarded tax abatements: $46,024
Anticipated capital investment: $3,206,416
WinTech — a Nevada-based technology firm that developed ALICE, a virtual receptionist — is considering expanding its Las Vegas headquarters. It would hire 17 people over the next year at an average wage of $36.63.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
