Photo by Dan Kohler
Construction work is pictured at the Dunkirk Wells location.
While Wells Enterprises is currently working on its latest expansion, the company is already looking at another multi-million project at their Dunkirk facility.
During Tuesday’s Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting, officials shared that Wells is proposing adding another 133,000 square feet to their plant.
“This expansion will include a segregated compound facility, which will help the plant to increase production,” Rosemarie Strandburg with the county IDA explained.
Once completed, Strandburg said 20 new jobs will be added to the company. They will also retain 388 positions.
The total cost of the project is $175 million.
The new expansion, which would be considered Phase III, is expected to help the company produce chocolate as an ingredient in ice cream production.
Chris Schastok with Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) spoke about the project at the IDA meeting.
“This investment and new infrastructure will continue to allow for a number of expanded products in R&D (research and development) which will make the Dunkirk facility a world-class facility that Wells and Ferrero Group owns,” he said.
Wells is seeking a 10-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement with the county, requesting abatement for both property and sales tax. According to Strandburg, the total PILOT payment to all affected taxing jurisdictions would be $2,241,980. The property tax exemption would be $5,576,711 and there would be a total sales tax savings of about $6 million.
The county IDA Board of Directors approved a due-diligence resolution, which allows the county to begin exploring the proposed expansion, including environmental studies.
Once the county completes its research on the proposal, a resolution will be brought back to the county IDA Board of Directors to give final approval.
Wells Enterprises is currently working on a $425 million expansion. A ribbon-cutting for that project took place this past summer and included a visit from Gov. Kathy Hochul. Wells makes both hand-held ice cream products and ice cream to scoop in Dunkirk.