Mr Ferguson, operations manager for fertiliser manufacturing firm Envirofocus Ltd, said the company had been granted council rates relief when it commissioned a new manufacturing plant in Dukes Rd, Mosgiel, last year.
The package was worth about $20,000 over four years, and helped the company free up cashflow and take on extra staff needed to meet demand for its product, he said.
The company's staff had doubled from two to four after confirmation of the council's assistance, and another "four or five" staff were likely to be added in the next two years, he said.
"This is a significant venture that's being set up, so anything that we could gain by way of either savings or capital input is of huge benefit to us.
"We would have had to take the staff on anyway, but it's just been a help to us to be able to do that."
The company exported to markets in Australia, as well as selling within New Zealand, and hoped to reach other markets eventually, he said.
The council has previously been criticised for not doing enough for Dunedin businesses, but Mr Ferguson said its help had been "absolutely tremendous".
"I'd rate the support from the council extremely highly, and the criticism they get is unjust."
The company was among 186 to receive more than $2.36 million in council grants between 2005 and 2010, council figures showed.
Council economic development unit manager Peter Harris said rates relief was an investment in those spending "significant money" on new buildings or redevelopment projects, who would eventually pay higher rates as a result.
"It's solidifying a ratepayer who's going to be paying rates in a much bigger scale long-term, so there's a short-term pain for a long-term gain," he said.
