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SALT LAKE CITY -- Two major companies are looking to increase their presence in Utah. On Thursday, the Governor's Office of Economic Development offered both eBay and Verisys Corporation financial incentives to expand within the state.
"It's very significant that we're having some big companies continuing to expand. They get their foot in the door, test the waters of the state and then they go big," said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
For instance, eBay; the company is already a major presence with a call center in Draper and a data center in South Jordan. Thursday morning, the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board offered another financial incentive to eBay that could result in many more new jobs by the end of the year.
"This is huge. This is a couple hundred additional employees in the state. It's a customer service branch of the operation. It's something like $70 million of new revenue coming into the state because of this project," Perry said.
The board also offered incentives to Verisys Corporation, which compiles and provides background data information for the health care industry. For example, hospitals can check with the company to make sure doctors are properly licensed, and so on.
It may sound like a broken record, but Utah's economy is poised for big things down the road. "We have identified the right kinds of companies and the right kinds of industries that are not just going to help our economy now, but we're building the economy of tomorrow with every one of these announcements," Perry said.
The Verisys Corporation Board of Directors will be coming to Utah in two weeks to make a decision on Thursday's incentive offer by the state. The conventional wisdom is the board won't travel all the way out here to say "no thanks."
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com
