A drilling service company has plans for a $64 million facility in Massillon it says could create 700 high-paying jobs.
Baker Hughes Inc., one of the world’s biggest well-services operations, on Monday won a 65 percent, seven-year Job Creation Tax Credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The value of the award is estimated at $10.13 million.
The tax credit is among the largest the state agency has approved, said Katie Sabatino, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Development.
Monday’s action is one step toward completing the Baker Hughes deal, officials cautioned. The company is still negotiating with state, county and local agencies on additional incentives, but no details have been released on those efforts.
Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Baker Hughes, based in Houston, wants to build on 108.5 acres south of U.S. 30 in the Northeast Ohio Commerce Park in southeast Massillon. The company told the state it expects to fill 700 jobs with an average hourly wage of $31.25 within three years.
The company does not drill natural gas-oil wells but provides services to other well-drilling companies. It considered other states before deciding on Ohio, officials said.
Eastern Ohio is attracting attention as well drilling gets under way in the state’s Utica shale thousands of feet underground.
Baker Hughes is the No. 2 well service company behind Halliburton. It has more than 57,000 employees in 80 countries, according to its website.
It was formed in 1987 when Baker International merged with the Hughes Tool Co.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company reported income of $314 million, or 72 cents a share, on revenue of $5.39 billion.
The state tax authority also approved tax credits for B. Hubbard Enterprises with 40 jobs. The company plans to move from Oklahoma to Lancaster in central Ohio. It makes equipment used to service natural gas and oil wells.
Exterran Energy Solutions LLC of Texas got state tax credits for a $13.2 million plant in Youngstown. The company wants to build a 65,000-square-foot plant on a 20-acre site in the Salt Springs Road Industrial Park to build equipment to compress natural gas.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
