MONROE - The infant formula production company planning to build in Monroe has cleared "a lot of hurdles," according to a company spokesman, but at least one city alderman remains skeptical that the plan will come to fruition.
Marilyn Pfarr, Amlat administrative manager, updated the status of the Amlat project at the Monroe Common Council meeting Tuesday, as requested by council members in December.
Pfarr said the company, which is being created by Dong Han of Beijing, on 20 acres in Monroe's north industrial park, recently completed designs for its building, hired Miron Construction to build its 48,450-square-foot facility, and has an equipment company under contract. She said Amlat is "hopeful that, as soon as we can - March or April," the company will break ground and complete construction within 12 months of beginning construction.
The company postponed its Nov. 25 ground-breaking ceremony because it needs to secure a state permit for air quality, Pfarr said. Amlat has completed four of five phases to secure the permit and should have it "in the next three weeks."
"It's just come a long way in the last six months," Pfarr said of the project. "The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) made a lot of changes - we had to wait for them to say what, where, when. ... People don't understand that baby food is considered almost pharmaceutical, so there's a lot of red tape.
"You have to abide by the U.S. rules and by China's, so you have a very narrow window to stay within both."
Pfarr said Amlat is hopeful the company could bring as many as 500 jobs to Monroe by the time it reaches "phase three." The company isn't ready to get into specifics of its three planned phases, she said, but the first phase will be startup, involving construction and production of the formula, and would employ as many as 200 people; the second, which would likely begin about 24 months after startup, would be "adding another dryer, more packaging" and "possibly a different process to make the same product;" and the third would begin in "maybe five years."
Amlat's agreement with the city was amended in July to give Han the ability to rescind the agreement if she were unable to process an EB5 application for 20 immigrant visas, a point that raised concerns from alderman Michael Boyce. EB5 projects offer visas for immigrants who invest at least $500,000 in a domestic company.
Amlat has secured 12 of the 20 visas, and another six who are close to submitting their applications, Pfarr said, adding the company also has many people in the U.S. who would like to invest, so "if those come through, we wouldn't need 20."
Boyce said he is concerned that Amlat has the ability to "walk away from the deal and get their (money) back" if they don't secure visas. The city sold the site to Amlat for $447,000 in cash in 2013, and under terms of the agreement, the development is to achieve and maintain a minimum fair market value of $1 million in 2015 and of $2.1 million in 2016 through 2029. Non-performance penalties of up to $56,800 annually are included in the agreement.
Pfarr said the city should not be concerned about Amlat backing away from the deal.
"I don't feel that that's going to make or break the deal by any stretch, because we have other investors who don't need the EB5 who are wanting to invest," Pfarr said. "(Han) believes in her project. She has put a lot of time and effort into it. The millions of dollars we've invested just to get this far, even though there's not a building out there, is amazing."
Boyce said he is concerned about changes made "throughout the entire process," adding that the reason the city asked for an update was because of recent legal bills incurred by city attorney Rex Ewald, who Boyce said was advising Amlat on what the penalties were in the agreement.
"The (city's) plan commission can elect not to impose those penalties, and I would wager that Amlat is going to ask for those penalties not to be imposed," Boyce said.
Boyce said there have been "a number of red flags," and that the state also had its own concerns when it reviewed Amlat's plans and "wouldn't get behind it."
Boyce said his biggest concern is what he sees as the selling of U.S. citizenship. Boyce said he read on Amlat's website that investors would be charged $49,000 for EB5 services involving advice and guidance.
"The jobs would be great, but as far as a wealthy Chinese investor being able to buy their way into America just kind of rubs me the wrong way.
"And now, it's my understanding the website has been hacked. It's down. But (the information about the fee) was there, it was definitely on that website."
Marilyn Pfarr, Amlat administrative manager, updated the status of the Amlat project at the Monroe Common Council meeting Tuesday, as requested by council members in December.
Pfarr said the company, which is being created by Dong Han of Beijing, on 20 acres in Monroe's north industrial park, recently completed designs for its building, hired Miron Construction to build its 48,450-square-foot facility, and has an equipment company under contract. She said Amlat is "hopeful that, as soon as we can - March or April," the company will break ground and complete construction within 12 months of beginning construction.
The company postponed its Nov. 25 ground-breaking ceremony because it needs to secure a state permit for air quality, Pfarr said. Amlat has completed four of five phases to secure the permit and should have it "in the next three weeks."
"It's just come a long way in the last six months," Pfarr said of the project. "The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) made a lot of changes - we had to wait for them to say what, where, when. ... People don't understand that baby food is considered almost pharmaceutical, so there's a lot of red tape.
"You have to abide by the U.S. rules and by China's, so you have a very narrow window to stay within both."
Pfarr said Amlat is hopeful the company could bring as many as 500 jobs to Monroe by the time it reaches "phase three." The company isn't ready to get into specifics of its three planned phases, she said, but the first phase will be startup, involving construction and production of the formula, and would employ as many as 200 people; the second, which would likely begin about 24 months after startup, would be "adding another dryer, more packaging" and "possibly a different process to make the same product;" and the third would begin in "maybe five years."
Amlat's agreement with the city was amended in July to give Han the ability to rescind the agreement if she were unable to process an EB5 application for 20 immigrant visas, a point that raised concerns from alderman Michael Boyce. EB5 projects offer visas for immigrants who invest at least $500,000 in a domestic company.
Amlat has secured 12 of the 20 visas, and another six who are close to submitting their applications, Pfarr said, adding the company also has many people in the U.S. who would like to invest, so "if those come through, we wouldn't need 20."
Boyce said he is concerned that Amlat has the ability to "walk away from the deal and get their (money) back" if they don't secure visas. The city sold the site to Amlat for $447,000 in cash in 2013, and under terms of the agreement, the development is to achieve and maintain a minimum fair market value of $1 million in 2015 and of $2.1 million in 2016 through 2029. Non-performance penalties of up to $56,800 annually are included in the agreement.
Pfarr said the city should not be concerned about Amlat backing away from the deal.
"I don't feel that that's going to make or break the deal by any stretch, because we have other investors who don't need the EB5 who are wanting to invest," Pfarr said. "(Han) believes in her project. She has put a lot of time and effort into it. The millions of dollars we've invested just to get this far, even though there's not a building out there, is amazing."
Boyce said he is concerned about changes made "throughout the entire process," adding that the reason the city asked for an update was because of recent legal bills incurred by city attorney Rex Ewald, who Boyce said was advising Amlat on what the penalties were in the agreement.
"The (city's) plan commission can elect not to impose those penalties, and I would wager that Amlat is going to ask for those penalties not to be imposed," Boyce said.
Boyce said there have been "a number of red flags," and that the state also had its own concerns when it reviewed Amlat's plans and "wouldn't get behind it."
Boyce said his biggest concern is what he sees as the selling of U.S. citizenship. Boyce said he read on Amlat's website that investors would be charged $49,000 for EB5 services involving advice and guidance.
"The jobs would be great, but as far as a wealthy Chinese investor being able to buy their way into America just kind of rubs me the wrong way.
"And now, it's my understanding the website has been hacked. It's down. But (the information about the fee) was there, it was definitely on that website."