CITY OF ROCKFORD REFUNDS $1.1 MILLION IN TIF FUNDS TO ANDERSON PACKAGING
5-22-2008 

ROCKFORD - May 22, 2008 - The City of Rockford today presented Anderson Packaging, Inc., an AmerisourceBergen Company, with a $1.1 million dollar check from the Rockford Global TradePark (GTP) Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District Fund. The check will be used to reimburse Anderson Packaging for a portion of the $14 million cost of the 260,000 square foot expansion to their facility in the GTP. The expansion to this state of the art facility, as a competitive advantage in the ever-growing, pharmaceutical packaging industry, will enable the company to add 250 new jobs.

TIF Districts are a tool, authorized by the state, which helps local government "jump start" economically sluggish parts of a community. When the City of Rockford creates a TIF district, the assessed property values in the district are "frozen" at the current level for all taxing bodies. As redevelopment is started and property values rise, the City is allowed to capture the increased property taxes to pay for any public improvements or to help finance other eligible redevelopment projects costs.

As approved by the Rockford City Council in a Development Agreement between Anderson Packaging and the City on March 5, 2007, the $1.1 million dollars in TIF funds are to be used to cover the cost to acquire the land and building of a vacant manufacturing facility that was adjacent to the existing plant. In addition to offsetting the acquisition costs, the TIF funds were also used to demolish the unusable manufacturing building that was located on the site; in essence, the TIF funds allowed Anderson Packaging to expand into an existing manufacturing site at the same cost as expanding on a vacant "greenfield" site. In building this type of redevelopment agreement, the City of Rockford has helped provide Anderson Packaging with the ability to grow and expand their presence in Rockford. "We appreciate the city's assistance and close collaboration with Anderson's continued expansion in the Rockford area." says Shawn Reilley, President of Anderson Packaging. "We are committed to building a world class pharmaceutical contract packaging company here in Rockford and our ability to expand our facilities and hire high quality talented individuals from the this area is vital to that endeavor. Clearly, the city and Mayor Morrissey have provided us a great opportunity to develop a corporate campus where we can cultivate a center of excellence as a platform for future growth".

All of Anderson's seven packaging facilities are located in the Rockford area and the company employs approximately 1,100 associates. Anderson provides contract packaging services to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries and has operated in the Rockford area since it founding 1967.

About Anderson Packaging

Anderson Packaging, a wholly owned subsidiary of the AmerisourceBergen Corporation, is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical contract packagers in the United States. With extensive experience in new-product launches and process startup, Anderson offers specialized services such as package development, including design of child-resistant and patient compliance prompting features, as well as process development, including in-house tooling design and manufacture. Anderson also maintains one of the most progressive process, facilities and validation programs in the contract packaging industry, while maintaining a record of superior quality and service.

For more information:
Justin Schroeder
Anderson Packaging, Inc.
4545 Assembly Drive
Rockford, IL 61109
815-484-8900
Fax: 815-484-8904
E-mail: JSchroeder@andpkg.com
www.andersonpackaging.com