Malt-O-Meal, the Minneapolis-based company that makes cereals such as Marshmallow Mateys, Coco Roos, and Toasty Os, is negotiating to open a large distribution facility in the Spokane Business & Industrial Park.


Were working to put together a deal with Malt-O-Meal and hope to complete it soon, says Brent Long, marketing director for Crown West Realty LLC, which owns the big industrial park complex in the Spokane Valley.


Long declines to disclose details about the pending transaction, except to confirm reports that Malt-O-Meal would occupy a building with about 100,000 square feet of floor space that would be built for it in the park. Malt-O-Meal representatives familiar with the negotiations here couldnt be reached for comment.


Malt-O-Meal produces 21 varieties of cold cereal, which are sold under the Malt-O-Meal brand and a number of private-label names, according to information on the companys Internet site. It has been producing breakfast cereals for 70 years and claims to be nations fifth largest cold cereal manufacturer.


The Spokane area isnt the only place in the Western U.S. where Malt-O-Meal is looking at establishing new facilities. About three months ago, the company disclosed that it was working out final details for a planned $75 million, 400,000-square-foot plant in Tremonton, Utah, a town of 5,000 people located about 20 miles south of the Idaho-Utah border.


To nab that plant, Tremonton reportedly had to beat out the town of Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles east of Dallas. Local taxing entities in Utah agreed to give Malt-O-Meal a 70 percent property tax break for seven years, and the states Board of Business and Economic Development approved a $750,000 incentive loan package for the company from the Utah Industrial Assistance Fund, according to news reports.