Plastic sheeting manufacturer to build facility in Cedar City, create jobs

Goex, a leading manufacturer of plastic sheeting, is coming to Cedar City. The Wisconsin-based Goex Corporation will expand its operations by adding a facility in Utah, which is expected to add up to 100 jobs, $1.8 million in state revenue and an estimated $15 million in capital investment.


Goex’s new plant will be located on a 20-acre site within the Port 15 industrial development located about four miles west of downtown Cedar City. The Port 15 development is a partnership between the Utah Trust Lands Administration and Quantum Development Group. St. George News

Largest manufacturer of X-ray protection to expand to Hildale, bringing 100 jobs and furthering town’s rebrand

A California-based company is expanding its operations with a manufacturing facility in Hildale, bringing nearly 100 new jobs and an economic boost to the town.

The nation’s largest manufacturer of X-ray protection gear, Infab, has acquired a 60,000-square foot facility in Hildale. The company’s decision to bring its business to Hildale is thanks in part to a series of massive projects the town government has implemented to rebuild the community’s infrastructure and strengthen municipal services, in addition to financial incentives to offset cost. The move will bring nearly 100 jobs to the area. St. George News

Litehouse expands

Litehouse Foods in Hurricane is cutting the ribbon Wednesday on a 175,000 square foot expansion of its food product manufacturing plant. The company has increased its local employment by 50 percent since 2017, managers say, and the new expansion triples the square footage of the original building. The Spectrum

St. George wins nearly $1 million grant to hire nine more firefighters

For the first time in nearly 10 years, the St. George Fire Department has won a federal grant that will allow the city to hire nine more firefighters. The $993,000 grant — matched with city funds totaling about $600,000 — means the department will have about $1.6 million to help bolster the rapidly growing city's strained fire staff. Deseret News

In-home senior care company opens new franchise in Southern Utah

Senior Helpers, one of the nation’s premier providers of personalized in-home senior care, has announced the official opening of its Southern Utah location. The new franchise will serve senior citizens and their families in locations around Southern Utah, including Apple Valley, Beaver, Cedar City, Dammeron Valley, Diamond Valley, Hurricane, Ivins, Kanab, La Verkin, Leeds, New Harmony, Panguitch, Pine Valley, St. George, Santa Clara, Toquerville, Veyo, Washington and Winchester Hills. The business expects to bring 25 new jobs to the region over the next year and is currently hiring caregivers. St. George News

St. George City approves tax incentive with Ram Company

City officials have approved a tax incentive for a manufacturing company that is promising to add dozens of new jobs in St. George, a benefit to the area economy. The Ram Manufacturing Company, otherwise known as Ram Pro, is in the process of completing an $11 million expansion to its facility in St. George. Along with the 71,000-square foot expansion, the company plans to provide 38 new jobs. Citing the Ram Company’s “significant contribution to the local economy and tax base,” the St. George City Council approved a 10-year tax agreement with the company to incentivize its expansion and creation of new jobs. St George News

TCN Unveils New Global Headquarters in Downtown St. George

TCN, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs and collection agencies worldwide, announced Wednesday the opening of its new global headquarters in the heart of St. George at 162 N. 400 E., St. George, Utah to support the company’s steady growth and future expansion. Located directly off St. George Boulevard, the new headquarters include 12,000 square feet of central office space, providing a larger, easily accessible and more visual location for customers, employees and the community to congregate, interact and collaborate.

TCN plans to hire aggressively and double its workforce within the next year. TCN is especially focused on hiring and nurturing local talent and continues to host community events such as: informational luncheons, youth code camps and mini job fairs for undergraduates studying engineering, IT, marketing or business at Dixie State University. Utah Business Magazine

Slew of upcoming restaurants to grace St. George area in 2018

Filling the empty space that was once Players Sports Grill, located at 1688 S. Convention Center Drive, Guadalajara Grill is expected to open in late January.

The Black Bear Diner will add a second location just off the Washington Parkway exit as soon as June. The restaurant is expected to include an outdoor patio and will accommodate 295 patrons. Pieology is a make-your-own pizzeria chain headquartered in California with several locations across the Southwest. One of its newest will take the place of Wing Nutz, located in the Red Rock Commons. Wing Nutz is moving to another space near Outback in the Zion Factory Outlets.

Situated right on the border of St. George and Washington City, another Taco Bell is expected to open in 2018.

Kneaders is opening a second location in St. George in the Dinosaur Crossing shopping center. The new Kneaders is said to open as soon as this coming summer. It will accompany several new businesses including Smith's Marketplace, which opened in August. The Spectrum

Construction starts on $40 million 'City View' downtown St. George project

Developers gathered with representatives from the City of St. George to turn ceremonial shovels and signal the beginning of construction on a $40 million multi-use project pegged as a key step in building up the downtown area. The "City View" project is planned to include a planned four-story Boutique hotel, two four-story apartment buildings, retail shopping, restaurants and other commercial uses. The first phases, one of the apartment buildings and a parking structure, should be open by next fall. About 110 apartment units would be included. The Spectrum

Courtyard by Marriott opens in Cedar City

The newest hotel in Cedar City, a Courtyard by Marriott at 1294 Interstate Dr., has opened. The four-story hotel, which will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Safari Hospitality of Cedar City, will feature 112 guest rooms, an indoor swimming pool, fitness center, guest laundry and 3,200 square feet of available meeting space. The Spectrum

Desert Air Heath and Cooling comes to Kanab

Desert Air, a new Kanab business, is a full service heating and cooling company, with over 20 years’ experience in residential, commercial, new construction, and industrial services. They also do sheet metal fabrication and custom duct design. Southern Utah News

New Cedar City Businesses

Several new businesses have opened or will open in Cedar City including Cup of Joe, a drive-thru coffee shop; Noggin Games, which caters to family gaming; The Stork on Main, a baby boutique; Harbor Freight Tools, a California-based hardware store; Hauptstrasse Markt, a German deli and the Courtyard Marriott hotel. The Spectrum

Café Rio to open in Santa Clara

Café Rio, a Utah original that has grown into one of the most popular Mexican-style fast casual restaurants in the United States, is opening its third Southern Utah location at 3540 S. Pioneer Parkway in Santa Clara. The Spectrum

New Restaurant for St. George

Guadalajara Grill plans to bring 'upscale' Mexican food to St. George. The restaurant will go into the old Players Sports Grill building at 1688 S. Convention Center Dr., near the Dixie Center and adjacent to Interstate 15. The high-traffic location has remained empty since this spring, an odd void in a growing city. While the restaurant’s menu will be about “65 percent Mexican,” Guadalajara Grill will also serve prime rib, steak and a variety of seafood including crab legs and lobster tail. The Spectrum

Litehouse Foods successfully adds 103 jobs at Hurricane facility; more to come

Over 100 people have found new employment since Litehouse Foods expanded its operations in Southern Utah with a $40 million investment in May, and more jobs will continue to be added in the coming years. Since the May expansion, the company has added 103 new full-time positions at the Hurricane facility, and the company forecasts offering 75-100 more as the expansion continues.

Litehouse Foods may earn up to 20 percent of the new state taxes it will pay after the jobs expansion in the form of a post-performance economic development tax increment finance tax credit rebate. In order to secure these incentives, total company wages in aggregate are required to exceed 110 percent of the Washington County average wage. St. George News

New Smith’s Marketplace Open in St. George

A new Smith’s Marketplace is now open at Dinosaur Crossing in St. George. The 123,000 square-foot store will add 257 new jobs to the area and offer and assortment of groceries, apparel, housewares and small kitchen appliances. The Spectrum

Hotel building boom hits southwest Utah

More than 400 new hotel rooms have been built in southwestern Utah since January, and more than 450 more are expected to be finished by year’s end, according to a market report from real estate services group NAI Excel. There are three new hotels under construction in St. George, four in Springdale and one each in Cedar City, Hurricane and Virgin. Later this year, four more are planned to go up in St. George, one more in Hurricane, one in LaVerkin and one in Ivins. The Spectrum

Tax Incentives for new Washington County jobs

The Governor's Office of Economic Development board approved almost $350,000 in post-performance tax-credit rebates to Litehouse, Inc., a food-manufacturing company based in Sandpoint, Idaho Litehouse plans on spending $40 million to expand a facility in Hurricane, creating 165 new jobs over the next eight years. Litehouse's expansion is expected to generate $1.7 million in corporate, sales and payroll taxes. Salt Lake Tribune

Charlotte Pipe expanding in Iron County

Charlotte Pipe is adding a 150,000 square-foot expansion to their Iron County facility, with the anticipation of 30 new jobs. The Spectrum

Mueller Industries to Open Copper Manufacturing in Iron County

Mueller Industries and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced Thursday the manufacturer will expand to Utah, adding up to 125 jobs to the community.

The Mueller Industries project will create up to 125 jobs over the next eight years. The total wages in aggregate are required to exceed 110 percent of the county average wage. The projected new state wages over the life of the agreement are expected to be approximately $31,291,115. Projected new state tax revenues, as a result of corporate, payroll and sales taxes, are estimated to be $2,475,952 over eight years. Utah Business Magazine