Minnesota plant-based milk maker eyes D-FW for a ‘new mega-facility’ in expansion push
Minnesota-based SunOpta Inc. is in the final stages of negotiating a lease to build a so-called “new mega-facility” in Dallas-Fort Worth for its plant and fruit based food and beverage products.
CEO Joseph D. Ennen announced the site search in the company’s quarterly conference call earlier this week. He didn’t say where the facility would be built, but said he expected it to be operational by the end of 2022.
“At 275,000 square meters, this greenfield facility is by far the largest [capital spending] Project that we have carried out and will support significant long-term growth in our plant-based business, ”said Ennen. “We are excited that this capacity will continue to enable our customers and our brands to keep pace with consumer demand.”
The D-FW project, combined with ongoing expansions in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Modesto, California, will enable SunOpta to double its business, Ennen said. SunOpta revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2021 was $ 409.9 million, nearly 5% more than the same period last year.
“With this new facility we will have facilities in the East, West, Midwest and now also in the South that will enable us to offer very competitive costs, an improved environmental footprint and redundant manufacturing capabilities to reduce the risk to our customers”, he said.
The company operates 14 plants worldwide with 1,450 employees.
SunOpta, based in Edina, Minnesota, makes plant-based milk and milk, and processes frozen fruits and fruit-based snacks. Plant-based milk sales in the US rose 20% to $ 2.5 billion in 2020, industry news site Food Business reported, citing data from market researcher SPINS.
Earlier this week, Oatly Inc., the world’s largest producer of oat beverages, announced that it is building a new manufacturing center in Fort Worth that will create 100 jobs.
The 25-year-old Swedish manufacturer of oat alternatives to milk, ice cream, yogurt, cooking creams and spreads is planning a 280,000 square meter production center, which is expected to be completed in 2023.
The Fort Worth facility is estimated to produce an estimated 150 million liters of oat milk annually, making it the largest of the company’s three North American facilities. It is one of nine new facilities Oatly plans to open globally by 2023.
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