Jackson’s announced a plant expansion that will nearly triple its production capacity and add 10,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to the Muskego-based company.
The expansion comes less than two years after Jackson’s opened its production facility, which the company states is one of the first facilities it’s dedicated to making only sweet potato kettle chips cooked in premium oils.
James Marino, CEO of Jackson’s, said the company is adding two new, high-capacity kettles and two additional high-speed packaging lines and seasoning systems that will allow the company to reportedly triple its pounds per hour production capacity and run up to four different products simultaneously. Marino adds that the expansion, which started in late August and will be complete by early November, will allow the company to quadruple its storage space and install a high-density racking system.
Marino notes that, in June 2023, Jackson’s established a second, full-time production shift and added overtime required to meet customer demand. He says that the company expects to continue to add jobs. He further explains, “Adding the two new kettles means that we can process more than one million pounds of sweet potatoes each week and make more than 600,000 bags of kettle-cooked sweet potato chips a day.” The new kettles will be equipped with the current technology, including features that will optimize the usage of its featured ingredient—avocado oil.
Jackson’s uses heirloom, non-GMO, Beauregard and Covington sweet potatoes purchased from farmers nationwide and kettle cooks them in small batches in avocado oil. The company’s production facility and products are free of the “Big Nine” allergens, and the company’s products are compatible with major diets, including vegan, Keto, Paleo, grain-free, AIP, Whole 30 and Kosher.