JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- Located on the far east side of Jefferson City, near the Missouri National Guard headquarters, Command Web prints and binds books for Scholastic and other publishing houses.
"We will be adding a state-of-the-art printing press along with a high-speed binding line and additional support equipment,” Plant Manager Chris Huckleberry said. “The building will be expanded by approximately 45,000 square feet.”
The Jefferson City Council this week took another significant step toward the expansion of the Command Web Printing plant.
Council members Monday approved the sale of $22 .5 million worth of taxable bonds to finance the project.
The company's announcement last February was a major boost to a local economy struggling with layoffs in both the public and private sectors. Command Web's decision to expand was a direct challenge to the unstable economy and supported by access to public bond money to finance the construction.
"Two advantages,” Jefferson City Attorney Nathan Nickolas said. “They get a lower interest rate through these kinds of bonds and, secondly, they get tax abatement.”
Local governments forgive the property tax debt in exchange for the tax revenue growth created by adding fifty or more new jobs. Nickolas said it's a routine and intelligent approach to economic development.
"We've done a lot of this in Jefferson City,” Nickolas said. “Scholastic was financed that way, Alpla was financed that way, Unilever, back when it was Chesebrough-Ponds, financed that way, Florsheim financed that way. It's been a really great economic tool for Jefferson City.”
"This will actually make the Jefferson City facility one of the largest, maybe not the largest outlet for paperback books in the country,” Huckleberry said.
Huckleberry expects the new production line to be operational about a year from now.
Nickolas said any risk from the investment is on Command Web. He said there is no risk to the city's bonding capacity or bond rating.
As a matter of structure, the city will own the new property and command web will repay the debt through lease payments to the city.
The bonds should be ready for sale by the first of the year.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG