Mine offices moving in

An underground mine contracting and engineering company on Friday selected Salt Lake County for its U.S. headquarters, after receiving a state tax-credit incentive.

Cementation USA's move from Nevada will result in 422 new full-time jobs paying more than twice the county median wage, according to documents provided by the Governor's Office of Economic Development. The GOED board on Friday approved the incentive for that company, as well as others that could result in the state landing an eBay Inc. data storage center in Salt Lake County and 1,111 new jobs for Frensenius USA in Ogden.

Cementation USA's incentive is a tax credit of about $3.3 million for creating the jobs over a 10-year period. Board documents show the average pay will be about $84,000. The company's capital investment is estimated at $5.5 million, and the headquarters could be placed in South Jordan, board members said. The project is estimated to add $130.2 million in new state wages over 10 years and $15.6 million in new state revenue during that period.

Cementation USA's three major U.S. projects are in Arizona, Idaho and Michigan. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cementation Canada, which was incorporated in Canada as Kvaerner Cementation in 1998 and later purchased by Murray and Roberts.

"Cementation is very proud to be playing an important role in servicing the U.S. mining industry, and we recognize Salt Lake as an excellent and inviting location to establish our head offices, because it is a key mining center," Mike Nadon, president of Cementation USA, said in a prepared statement. "Even more importantly, we see the city and surrounding communities as a hospitable and attractive environment for our employees and their families. In keeping with our corporate philosophy, we plan on being not just a member but an active supporter of the local community."

In prepared statement, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he is "delighted" that Cementation will put the U.S. headquarters in Utah. "As a leader in the mining industry, they will be joining with many Utah companies that are at the forefront of the energy production in the country," he said.

EBay's incentive is a tax credit of nearly $27.3 million. If the company, which has about 1,600 employees in Draper, chooses Utah for its data storage center, its initial capital spending with projected expansions is pegged at $334 million, board documents state.

Fifty full-time jobs would be created, and they would average 75 percent above the Salt Lake County median annual salary, which is $32,828. New state wages over 10 years are projected at $23.8 million, and new state revenue is estimated at $109.1 million for the same period.

Oracle Corp. said in May that it plans to build a $285 million data center in West Jordan, with help from a tax-rebate incentive from the state of more than $15 million. The center will have about 100 employees.

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