USA: Pabst Brewing to move headquarters to Chicago area

Pabst Brewing Co. is moving its headquarters to Woodridge, marking its return to the Midwest after a decade-long absence, The Chicago Business posted June 07.

Lured by the labor pool, transportation access and a nearly $1 million state incentives, the beer manufacturer is moving 31 jobs to the suburb about 30 miles west of Chicago.

The company’s executives, sales and marketing staff will relocate from San Antonio, Texas, in early July, said Kevin Kotecki, CEO of Pabst Brewing. The beer maker, which will spend nearly $2.5 million to lease an office building, already has four workers stationed in the area.

“It feels like home to us,” Mr. Kotecki said. “We are the third-largest brewery in Chicago, 10% of our business is done there and it continues to get larger every year.”

Of course, the nearly $1 million from Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns program, helped Pabst choose Illinois over Wisconsin and Minnesota. Pabst Brewing will receive roughly $925,000 in tax credits over a 10-year period as part of the state’s incentive package.

“The governor and his team was very helpful in the process,” said Mr. Kotecki, who called the incentive package “very attractive and very appreciative.”

The high-dollar incentive for less than three dozen jobs received some criticism from state Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale).

“You have to remember that Blagojevich is in an election year and it is not atypical for a governor to be much more generous with the state’s checkbook when trying to win re-election, especially in a time when Illinois is 46th in job creation for the last three years,” Mr. Dillard said. “One million for 31 jobs clearly pushes the envelope, but I’m happy these jobs are locating in my senatorial district.”

Andrew Ross, spokesman for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said the incentive wasn’t excessive. “These are important economic development tools to attract new companies to create new Illinois jobs,” Mr. Ross said.

Pabst Brewing was founded in Milwaukee 1844 by Jacob Best and his four sons. The company expanded into Chicago in 1854 when one of the sons opened a sales office in the city. The company is privately held and owned by Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust.

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