The Tampa Bay area soon will add to its cigar legacy: The maker of Davidoff cigars is moving its U.S. headquarters to Pinellas Park.
Oettinger Davidoff Group, based in Basel, Switzerland, is relocating to Pinellas Park from Stamford, Conn., according to a Pinellas County Economic Development Department announcement. The release does not specify where in the city Davidoff is moving, other than into a recently vacated 100,000-square-foot warehouse.
The county economic development agency hopes the cigar maker will make the move to the Bay area within six months. Davidoff is expected to create 90 local jobs with an average wage of $56,000.
From Pinellas Park, the company will import cigars from its manufacturing operations in Honduras and the Dominican Republic and distribute them to customers nationwide.
"What better place to relocate our U.S. headquarters than to an area noted for is superb quality of life and exceptional commitment to supporting business?" Davidoff Chief Executive Officer Reto Cina says in a written announcement.
The county economic development department, Florida and Pinellas Park competed against South Carolina to attract Davidoff and won the company with a series of financial incentives.
Davidoff will be eligible for $288,000 in tax refunds from the state and $36,000 each from Pinellas Park and Pinellas County through a program called the Qualified Target Industry program. To win the refunds, the company must create 90 jobs paying 150 percent of the area's average annual wage.
Through other incentive programs, the company will receive an additional $240,000 from the state, $20,000 from Pinellas County and $64,000 from Pinellas Park.
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