LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For a state known for its cornfields, Indiana is reaping even more from the starchy commodity. A British agribusiness that makes Splenda and other sweeteners, starches and industrial ingredients from corn is expanding its facilities in Lafayette.
Tate & Lyle recently announced plans to invest $90 million to expand its modified food starch production capacity and improve efficiency at the Tippecanoe County facilities. A global supplier of ingredients to the food and beverage industry, Tate & Lyle employs more than 500 Indiana associates and plans to add 10 more local positions, said Rebecca Helmke, public affairs manager for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC).
The planned upgrades are expected to be complete in 2017. The IEDC offered the company up to $375,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s investments.
Gov. Mike Pence traveled to Tate & Lyle’s headquarters in London last week to meet with executives from the company and to foster more business connections in the United Kingdom.
"All over the world, business leaders are recognizing that Indiana has all the ingredients they need to take their business to the next level," Pence said. "From a central location in the heartland of America to tax policies that encourage growth, Indiana is affordable, innovative and productive."
Helmke also credited the state’s lack of "restrictive regulations or red tape" and its supply of skilled workers and transportation networks.
Employing 30,000 Hoosiers, British companies are the largest European investors in Indiana and the second-largest globally – after Japan, Helmke added.
Two manufacturing plants in Lafayette and grain elevators in Francesville and Fowler are among Tate & Lyle’s 30 worldwide production and research facilities. For its fiscal year ending in March 2014, Tate & Lyle’s sales totaled $5.32 billion.
"Tate & Lyle continues to be one of Lafayette’s leading industries," said Lafayette Mayor Tony Roskwarski.
"This latest investment and pledged job creation is one many investments that the company has made here in their local plants."
The investments in Lafayette will aid the company’s growth and meet customer demand, while improving its environmental performance, said Olivier Rigaud, president of specialty food ingredients at Tate & Lyle.
Tate & Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE.L, while American Depositary Receipts trade under TATYY.
If a company does not meet its full projections of investment, it only receives a proportionate amount of incentives.
For more information about the IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov
