Albuquerque-based Roses Southwest Papers Inc., is seeking $20.2 million in industrial revenue bonds to expand its manufacturing operations, according to paperwork filed with Bernalillo County. The company is also applying for an unknown amount of Local Economic Development Act funding.
Industrial revenue bonds are a complex financial mechanism that allow a company to receive a tax break. In this case, the county’s economic development staff calculated the IRBs would give Roses a property tax abatement of about $81,000 a year on equipment for 20 years and about $42,000 a year on land and improvements for 30 years.
The company says the project will allow it to create a net of 38 new jobs, ranging from assistant operators making $10 an hour to facilities personnel with an average wage of $17 an hour. The net 38 total includes 20 positions that will be eliminated as a result of changes to the manufacturing process, as well as 58 hires. Some of the employees with eliminated positions will be retrained for the new positions, according to the application.
The incentives must be approved by the Bernalillo County Commission before they go into effect. Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday evening.
Roses has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In its application, Roses wrote that the bonds will be used to purchase equipment and make improvements to an existing facility, as well as to purchase a new warehouse space at 530 Airport Drive NW in Albuquerque. The company, which manufactures napkin, towel, and tissue products, plans to add robotic packaging technologies, electrical infrastructure improvements and dispenser napkin production machinery to its current facility at 1701 2nd St. SW.
If the package is approved, the bonds will be issued in two phases. Series A at $12 million would be used to fund the equipment purchases and improvements at the existing facility, while a $8.2 million Series B would be used to acquire the new warehouse space, according to the filings.
The county’s economic development staff recommended that the commission approve the application on the grounds that it is in line with the county’s goal of providing “a thriving, livable community with diverse opportunities for our residents.”
