SARATOGA SPRINGS – Quad/Graphics was awarded a $1.05 million tax incentive package Tuesday as the magazine and catalog printing giant prepares to invest $45 million installing new presses at its Saratoga Springs plant.
The Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency approved an incentive package last week that will save Quad $211,000 in sales tax on equipment. The IDA also approved a 10-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that freezes Quad's property assessment, saving the company $105,000 a year in property tax.
Munter Enterprises general contracting firm of Middle Grove has been hired to renovate a 60,000-square-foot section of Quad's 1,011,000-square-foot plant at the W.J. Grande Industrial Park. Construction costs are expected to total $6 million. Renovations will make room for the installation of two Manroland 8-unit auto transfer presses, driving the price tag of the project to $45 million.
The project is expected to reduce scrap and utility costs at the 36-year-old plant, while giving Quad the ability to take on more magazine, catalog and retail advertising insert jobs ranging from a few thousand pages to millions.
The machines will be the first color presses of their kind at Quad to include an auto transfer feature, allowing them to switch to a new job in 30 seconds, a process than can take between 20 and 40 minutes on other presses.
Quad employs 668 people in Saratoga and the new presses are expected to create 74 additional jobs within the next two years with an average salary of $52,500, plus $13,500 in benefits. The project also is expected to receive $6 million in tax credits from the state and $2.25 million in assistance through utility company National Grid.
