Perdue Farms’ plans to move its Perdue AgriBusiness headquarters to Delmar, Delaware, received a boost this week as the Sussex County Council is awarding a $125,000 grant to the City of Delmar for infrastructure improvements to support the move.
Perdue’s plans to move to Sussex County from its current headquarters in Salisbury, Maryland, have been in the making for several years. In 2015, Perdue stated that about 150 employees would make the move, but all other Perdue AgriBusiness operations would continue at their current locations. It was also stated that its parent company, Perdue Farms, would remain in Salisbury.
With the grant from the county, as well as more than $200,000 committed by the State of Delaware, Delmar will be able to make sewer and water upgrades, according to a report from the Salisbury Independent.
Delmar Mayor Mike Houlihan and 40th District State Representative Tim Dukes attended the county council meeting to encourage the county to approve the grant money, which it did.
“We are fortunate to have this opportunity to add good-paying jobs to our local tax base, and that’s a win for Sussex County’s economy,” County Council President Michael H. Vincent said. “This partnership secures an industry leader and it’s one more example of why Sussex County and Delaware are such an attractive place for companies to do business.”
In 2014, Perdue Farms Chairman Jim Perdue, speaking at a Maryland Chamber of Commerce CEO Spotlight, said Maryland’s regulatory climate made it difficult to do business in the state, adding that Delaware doesn’t have the same problems.
"The problem is, we have no seat at the table in Maryland," said Perdue. "Even if we have an onerous thing that happens in Virginia or Delaware, we can sit at the table and at least express our opinion. In Maryland, there is no seat. It's sort of dictated that this is the way it's going to be, and you really don't have any discourse."
