Plant Openings & Expansions | July 2022

**AquaBounty**, a land-based salmon producer focused on sustainability in aquaculture, broke ground on the construction of its first 10,000-metric-ton Atlantic salmon farm in Pioneer, Ohio, in the northwestern part of the state. AquaBounty expects the project cost to be between $290 million to $320 million and to start operation in 2023.

**Barry Callebaut** plans to invest $104 million to build a new specialty chocolate factory in Ontario (exact location TBA), Can. The new plant will make sugar-free chocolate, high protein, and other specialty products, and will produce more than 50,000 metric tonnes of liquid molded chocolate annually. The facility, which will be the company’s second largest factory in the Americas, is expected to be in operation by 2024.

**Jack Link’s**, maker of meat snacks sold in more than 40 countries, is expanding its distribution facility in Underwood, Iowa, to add warehouse capacity and a highly automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) to improve efficiency. Design-build firm Stellar will oversee the project, which is expected to be completed in June 2023. According to a local Georgia news source, Jack Link’s is also building a new $450 million production facility in Perry, Ga., which is expected to create 800 jobs—and is also doubling the size of its main jerky production facility in S.D.

**Great Lakes Cheese** broke ground on a new manufacturing and packaging plant in Franklinville, N.Y. With a capital investment of more than $518 million, the project is the largest infrastructure investment in the company’s history and the largest economic development project in the history of Cattaraugus County. Great Lakes Cheese will retain 228 jobs in the region, while adding an additional 215 employees. It will also double its milk consumption to 1.42 billion pounds annually, and will replace the company’s existing facility in Cuba, N.Y., upon project completion in 2025.

Wayne Farms has announced completion of a major upgrade and capacity expansion to its Decatur, Ga. prepared foods facility with the installation of a new cooked line and supporting spiral freezer. Production Line 51 joins nine existing production lines at Decatur, adding another 80 positions to the complex, bringing total employment to more than 1,100. The new prepared meal line allows the facility to increase chicken production by more than 42 million pounds per year.

Mars will soon break ground on a new global research and development hub adjacent to the company’s existing Global Innovation Center on Chicago’s Goose Island. With this expanded capability, Chicago will become the largest innovation hub in the world for Mars Wrigley, adding to its network of global innovation centers. The investment will add about 30 jobs to the Mars Wrigley Global Innovation Center, which will bring the Mars campus total to nearly 1,000 on Goose Island. Construction is expected to be complete by summer 2023.

Cargill plans to build a new soybean processing facility located in Pemiscot County, Mo. near Hayti and Caruthersville to support growing domestic and global demand for oilseeds. The facility, which will employ 45 full-time operators, will have an annual production capacity of 62 million bushels of soybeans and will be operational in 2026.

Symrise Pet Food plans to expand operations in Hodges (Greenwood County), S.C. by building a new state-of-the-art facility. The company’s $65.5 million investment will create 65 new jobs and be complete in 2025.

Palmetto Gourmet Foods, a producer of sustainable ramen noodles, plans to expand its operations near Saluda, S.C. The company is continuing its growth by investing $11.6 million and creating 73 new jobs to add to the approximately 200 positions that it has already created.

Godshall’s Quality Meats is investing $74 million to double the size of its Lebanon, Pa. bologna facility. Phase 1 (began in Nov. 2021) adds 68,000 sq.-ft. to the facility and will be finished by June 2023. Phase 2 will follow with an additional 37,000 sq.-ft., bringing the total to more than 200,000 sq.-ft.

E.A. Sween Company, a supplier of RTE sandwiches, announced plans to establish operations in Hodges, S.C. The company is investing $38 million and creating 300 new jobs. The facility is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2023.

ADM will invest significantly to expand starch production at its Marshall, Minn., facility to meet fast-growing demand from the food and beverage sectors, and to support the continued expansion of the company’s BioSolutions platform. The project is expected to be complete in the second half of 2023.

Focus Foods, a RTE meal manufacturer, will invest $1.7 million to expand its operation in Baton Rouge, La., adding 15,000 sq.-ft. to house an industrial kitchen and a shelf-stable manufacturing center in an existing 75,000-sq.-ft. facility where it is moving.

Artic Glacier, with headquarters in Philadelphia, Pa., announced the opening of a new ice production facility in Montréal, Canada.

Snap Gourmet Foods (Cleveland, Ohio) is planning to expand its existing 120,000-sq.-ft. RTE facility by connecting an existing next-door 82,000-sq.-ft. structure, which could create more than 20 additional jobs.

Freshpet is expanding its operations in Northampton County, Pa. by constructing a 99,000-sq.-ft. innovation kitchen less than a mile from its existing facility in Hanover Township. The new facility is expected to be complete in 2023.

NutriSource opened a new wet pet food processing facility inside the Tuffy’s Treats Company manufacturing plant in Delano, Minn. The $20 million, 45,000-sq.-ft. facility will add 45 jobs at the location.

CHS plans to expand its soybean processing plant in Mankato, Minn., pending approvals. Permits include the construction of a soybean oil bleaching and deodorization tower, which will allow increased production. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2023.

Niacet Corp., now part of the Kerry Group, is planning a $48 million expansion of its facility in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The expansion involves drying equipment used for creating food preservatives. The expansion would include an additional space of up to 35,000 sq.-ft.

Templeton Rye Spirits LLC plans to expand its warehouse facilities in Templeton, Iowa, for long-term barreling. The project is expected to create jobs with a qualifying wage of $22.63 per hour.