A Chattanooga company expects to bring up to 90 jobs to a vacant Lookout Valley plant by mid-2017 after winning rezoning approval for the property from planners on Monday.
Robert Bullard, chief executive of The Vincit Group, said plans are to put a repackaging and distribution operation at the Cummings Road site that holds an existing 275,000- square-foot building formerly run by candy maker Farley's & Sathers.
Bullard said his company already employs up to 275 people in the Chattanooga area and about 5,000 throughout The Vincit Group network. He plans to buy 12 acres of a 17-acre tract and start work at the plant by early winter.
"We need more space," Bullard said. "We'll be creating new jobs." He said the company also is to bring some positions from other locations to help meet company growth.
Plans are to use the plant, which Bullard said "is in great shape," to repackage and distribute chemical sanitation products, along with personal protection and other equipment. Bullard declined to say how much the company will invest in the Cummings Road location.
Chattanooga-Hamilton Regional Planning Commission Chairman Ethan Collier suggested that the property be rezoned M-1 manufacturing, though it be held to M-2 light manufacturing uses.
Hamilton County Commissioner Joe Graham had urged caution because of what he termed "a multimillion-dollar neighborhood" nearby and the possibly of more high-end homes.
The Vincit Group, headquartered at the corner of Fourth Street and Georgia Avenue, delivers specialized treatment programs for water, food, and beverage facilities, provides plant sanitation services and customized design-build engineering and installation.
In 1968, John and Mildred Zott founded Zee Co., which since has grown into The Vincit Group. The company began with just three employees and seven products, including Hog Scald, which it said "revolutionized product quality in the pork industry," according to the website. Today, Zee Co. maintains a collection of more than 1,500 products and The Vincit Group is in its fourth generation, the company said.
The Cummings Road building was raised around 1985. Farley's & Sathers announced in 2012 it was closing some of its Chattanooga operations, including the Cummings Road facility, after a merger with Chicago-based Ferrara Pan.
In 2014, Ferrara closed all of its Chattanooga production operations, including its remaining Jersey Pike facility, and laid off its manufacturing staff.
The owner of the property is listed in documents as Nooga Investments LLC of Tyler, Texas. That company bought the site for $2.65 million in April 2015 from Farley's & Sathers.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.