Pasco commissioners approve deal to move plastics manufacturer from New York
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 6, 2022

Pasco County Commissioners have approved an incentive deal to entice a New York plastics manufacturer to relocate from the Bronx.

Commissioners on Tuesday approved multiple incentives totaling $958,206 for Gary Plastic Packaging Corp., which will move its executive offices and two product line manufacturing facilities to Spring Hill. Gary Plastic plans to invest $16 million in “leasehold improvements, manufacturing equipment, furniture and other fixtures in order to create a modern state-of-the-art manufacturing facility,” according to county documents.

“Gary Plastic locating to the west Pasco area is going to provide great opportunities for our workforce from manufacturing jobs and skilled mechanics to supervisor and management jobs,” commissioner Jack Mariano said in a statement.

The company will occupy 279,000 square feet of the 400,000-square-foot North Pasco Corporate Center, which Tampa-based Harrod Properties is building. It will create 555 jobs over a three-year period, with 184 of those jobs paying 125% of the county wage.

Here’s a breakdown of the incentive package that was approved:

Pasco County job creation incentive for 184 new full-time jobs: not to exceed $552,000

Pasco County high-impact job creation bonus: not to exceed $306,206

Employee training grant for Pasco-based employees: not to exceed $100,000

The job creation incentive and high-impact bonuses are funded as ad valorem tax rebates. The employee training grant is funded through the Penny for Pasco sales tax.

“It is so nice to see an environmentally-focused family business that employs hundreds of people choose Pasco County to call home,” said Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council.” We are thrilled to welcome Gary and to see them locate into another great speculative property, we are here to help them grow for years to come.”

Gary Plastic, the EDC said, is “an environmentally focused company committed to providing customers with manufactured reusable products with an average content of 30 percent recycled plastic resins and continuing its research and development to incorporate bio-plant based materials in their products.”

The company’s two product lines are promotional products and packaging. The packaging line manufactures rigid, reusable containers for the pharmaceutical, dental and electronics industries.

“It has been a pleasure working with the Pasco EDC,” said Richard Hellinger, president of Gary Plastic. “They were extremely helpful from the minute we connected. Given the Corporate Center’s location and its opportunity for efficient growth, Pasco County was a natural fit for Gary Plastic’s new manufacturing facility.”