Yogurt maker to build plant at Omega site

I don't get it - why is an international company locating in a state that has no jobs because of sky-high taxes? Everyone here is on welfare, nobody works, except for VY employees, so who is going to staff a new plant?

So much for a Mom and Pop organic yogurt business moving to Brattleboro. I'll cut through the BS for you, since the Reformer can't be bothered.

Ehrmann AG / Commonwealth Yogurt is the just the type of business / corporation that the kooks in Brattleboro love to hate.

Dieter Dobousek, Commonwealth’s chief technical officer has not been truthful throughout this whole process. Go back and read watch was said.

"Ehrmann had been looking for a way to break into the American market and Commonwealth Yogurt opened the door for the company" Why not, no finacial risk involved, the taxpayer will pay.

"Ehrmann is from the southwest part of Germany with rolling hills similar to Vermont," he said. "It made them really feel at home." Ehrmann could careless if the plant is located in Brattleboro or Bayonne.

Most profits from the business will flow out of Vermont to Germany.

These plants are highly automated, most jobs will be low skilled, low wage. The plant will employ the least amount of workers possible, at the lowest wage possible.

The plant will buy milk products from where ever they can get them the cheapest, they could care less if it comes from Vermont.

Let's throw this out there shall we? What difference does it make if the money is going to Germany? We do not own our country anymore. We have sold our soul for foreign energy, foreign cars, McDonalds toys made in China, War, out of control government spending that we can't hope to pay back......If we bled every rich person dry of ever nickle dime and penny we still would not pay off the national debt! Who owns us, it may as well be Germany.

seriously, are you all serious? This town is dying a slow death because you all have refused to allow business to come here. Not everyone in this town lives on a trust fund, but claims to be a "farmer." Some of us actually work, own houses and pay taxes. We need a lower tax base so we can stay. I am tired of spending all my money at Walmart in NH because Brattleboro refuses to put in box stores. Don't you see that NH gets far more of our money than Germany ever will? You can't have it both ways.

we'll see how this all works out but something is better than nothing as far as jobs are concerned. A lot of money will get spent locally during construction and the property taxes will help. There are some odd aspects of this deal but I'll take it for now.

Party of No wrote:

I don't get it - why is an international company locating in a state that has no jobs because of sky-high taxes? Everyone here is on welfare, nobody works, except for VY employees, so who is going to staff a new plant?

Perhaps it's time you take another look?

they need a good location to highway system to distribution a code date product and the MOST IMPORTANT FACT IS IT WILL SAY [ MADE IN VERMONT ] Is the most selling line for natural and fresh just like the cow barn

I just don’t like the idea of local, state and government economic development grants and tax write off. We are doing that increasingly with producing energy...how do we know the real cost of anything around us?

It is normalize...everyone is giving huge advantages to new companies. Some are even hop scotching around from one community after another, getting economic benefits and the reneging on the deals and still walking away with a pot of free money.

As a policy, it is the “I hate the government” folks who love these kinds of deals. You are stealing tax monies out of the coffers of the local, state and federal government....you are starving government and you are stealing money and opportunity from the poor peoples mouths. You will get minimal wage taxes from the low paid workers...this is going to be a revenue burden on the local, state and feds for years to come.

VCDP Public Hearing and Application – Commonwealth Yogurt. The Board is asked to hold a public hearing on a Vermont Community Development Program application in the amount of up to $750,000 to purchase specialized equipment for a new yogurt processing plant. Commonwealth Yogurt is interested in developing a plant in Brattleboro that would manufacture Class II dairy products. All R&D, warehousing, shipping and the head office would be located in Brattleboro and would result in 50 new, good paying jobs. Staff recommends that the Town provide a $100,000 match in the form of a fifteen year loan at 2% interest (Terms of the loan are stipulated by VCDP). The $100,000 match would come from the Program Income fund associated with the Town’s CDBG program.

amy wrote:

I am tired of spending all my money at Walmart in NH because Brattleboro refuses to put in box stores.

If you want to live in junkland, why don't you move across the river, instead of trying to bring it over here? I left NH because of its whorish attitude toward junk development.

Here we have a real business moving into Bratt, an actual factory that produces a product and hires people other than just cashiers and janitors. It's a step in the right direction.

I mean, how big is this problem in Vermont where the municipalities are becoming a bank for the businesses in the state?

How deep does Brattleboro have this disease...how many loans have they given out to private enterprises on ridiculous terms? How much are they on the hook for 20 year loans?

If a long standing Brattleboro business wants to expand or a loan to get them over the economic hump...would Brattleboro give them twenty year $100,000 at 2%?

Remember what I said...altruism is a dangerous addictive disease....it twist the whole operation of the brain and shuts off wholesale analyzing processes of the brain. Altruism and terrible economic insecurity....the potential of twisting the functions of the brain are enormous.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20... -

Burlington Telecom suspension urged

Burlington Telecom, the city-owned provider of Internet, telephone and cable television service, revealed in late September that it had used $17 million of city money for its capital expenses and failed to pay the money back, as required by the company’s state license: its 2005 Certificate of Public Good. That license allows BT to provide cable television service to Burlington residents.

Party of No wrote:

Everyone here is on welfare, nobody works, except for VY employees, so who is going to staff a new plant?

So who is it that works at those other businesses in town? Imaginary workers - or do the VY Yankee employees come in and staff those places too? Funny - I see loads of people heading to various places to work everyday. Matter of fact when I'm heading up Main St. to work every morning heading away from VY those must be imaginary cars with their drivers all going to work.

You know - if you're trying to make a point - generalizations like - nobody works and everybody is on welfare except VY employees- just make you sound really silly and out of touch with reality.

But go ahead and tell the people at C&S, Fibermark, WL, Pepsi, the Retreat, Bratt. Hospital,the car dealerships and auto shops, the restaurants, all the shops in town etc. that they're not working everyday - that they're just collecting welfare - and I think that I can hazard a guess at what they'd tell you.

Like, how is commonwealth yogart not stealing from the brattleboro police department?

Like how is commonwealth yogurt not stealing money from brat’s school system?

Like how is commonwealth yogurt not stealing money from Brat’s town employees; the teachers, police, fire and the rest of the municipal employees?

What a juicy area for commonwealth yogurt...with a host of groceries distribution centers as a neighbors...such as C$S and United National Foods Inc.

These German’s must think we are nuts?

What did my wife say to me before we were married, when we were newly acquainted and me trying to negotiate having sex? She’d say smiling,“it is like getting the milk without buying the cow”. She didn’t bat an eye when she said that, it is like she already said it a zillion times before me. That did piss me off to no ends. I’d come back to her with a wink,“but I am a Vermont Yankee employee and a nuclear operator”?

They were high stake betting going on there baby?

That why I hated the “parade of the heifers” in Brattleboro...cause it always reminded me of her saying “no” and buying the cow admonition so many times.

God, after reading these posts its a wonder anyone would run any business in this area. You have people complaining about Brattleboro, the state of VT, shopping in Hinsdale, local businesses that employee thousands of local employees.

You should look at towns that have lost everything, lost the companies, lost the jobs, and are now suffering with high foreclosure rates and ZERO incentives to attract any business.

You should be thankful that the state of VT is offering and has the ability to offer incentives to create jobs in the Brattleboro area.

flat lander wrote:

they need a good location to highway system to distribution a code date product and the MOST IMPORTANT FACT IS IT WILL SAY [ MADE IN VERMONT ] Is the most selling line for natural and fresh just like the cow barn

Made In New Jersey just don't sound the same does it. Arizona Ice Tea is bottled in New Jersey.
Rolling Rock is now bottle in Newark NJ.

I heard that the median home price in Detroit has just fallen from $75,000 to $60,000.