Foam Company Looking for Tax Break From Mansfield

A foam company says at least 40 new jobs would come to their plant if they were granted proposed tax break at the Annual Town Meeting in May.

On Wednesday, the selectmen voted to sign off on the tax increment financing (TIF) agreement, which would give Future Foam an unspecified property tax reduction for their new facility at 47 Maple Street in Mansfield. The plan for a 10-year TIF was also endorsed by the town’s TIF committee in March, 2014.

Selectmen chairman George Dentino called it one of the better TIF agreements he has seen, referring to it as a win-win.

Future Foam has acquired the 165,000-square-foot facility for $3 million, and will invest an additional $2.5 million for rehabilitation and $4 million in new machinery.

A zoning variance to support a 30,000-square foot expansion and $3.5 million in new construction are also expected.

There will be a focus on manufacturing and selling bulk PU foam for bedding, furniture, packaging, and industrial markets.

Talks between Future Foam and the town began in November, 2014.

Future Foam, a company founded in Iowa in 1958, has five factories and 15 fabrication plants worldwide.