By Jon Newberry Post staff reporter
Jim Beam Brands Co. is planning to expand production of its DeKuyper line of cordials and other brand-name liqueurs, possibly adding 25 new jobs at its Cincinnati plant over the next three years. The State of Ohio has approved about $565,000 in various tax incentives and grants, including a $360,000 manufacturing and equipment tax credit, a $104,817 employment tax credit, a $50,000 business development grant, and a $50,000 training grant.
Jim Beam spokesman Aaron Brost in suburban Chicago said it would probably be about 30 days before an agreement is finalized. The company also has plants in Frankfort, Ky., and outside Bardstown, he said. The Ohio Department of Development said the state is competing with Kentucky for the proposed $3.3 million project.
Jim Beam's Cincinnati plant in Carthage, off Interstate 75, produces dozens of varieties of cordials sold under the DeKuyper name and others. It also packages other products such as bourbon, gin, vodka, rum and Canadian whiskey.
According to a project description submitted to the state, the company is considering expanding into new liqueur flavors, and the expansion would help achieve that goal.
The plant is the largest volume producer of cordials and liqueurs in North America. It produces products ranging in size from 50 milliliters to 1.75 liters on six bottling lines, Brost said. The Paddock Road site has been used to produce distilled spirits since
1893. It was operated for decades by National Distillers Products Co.Jim Beam Brands employs more than 150 people in Cincinnati, Brost said. It's owned by Fortune Brands Inc., which is based in Deerfield, Ill.
Publication Date: 09-08-2004