Japan firm to shut Baltimore factory, move 154 jobs to Delaware: Update

(Adds grants, pay data in 2d paragraph) Citing its search for a better workforce and location than what's available in its hometown of Baltimore or other places it looked, Zacros America says it will close its Hedwin heat-sealed packaging factory in that city and replace it with a new plant with 154 jobs on Lake Drive in Newark, Del.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement that the deal was sweetened with a Delaware Strategic Fund grant. Zacros was approved for the $703,505 grant, plus a Capital Expenditure grant of up to $180,000 (3% of Hedwin's $6 million private investment target), state spokesman Peter Bothum told me. The jobs "will be staffed with a broad range of skill sets, salaries ranging from $30,000 to well over $100,000." More on the state grant here.

Hedwin, founded in 1946, supplies cosmetics, drug, flavoring and medical packaging. The firm was purchased by Japan-based films and packaging maker Fujimori Kogyo Co. Ltd. and its Zacros division in 2014. Clients include Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, which also has a plant in Newark.

Of the sites Zacros America looked at, "Delaware had the best workforce and the right location," vice president and COO Maurice LeCompte said in a statement. "They have the desire and the ability for future expansion," said Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office added.