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Beech-Nut to build new plant, headquarters in New York

FoodProcessing.com
05/16/2007

Beech-Nut Nutrition will build a production facility in the town of Florida, N.Y. and move its St. Louis-based headquarters to the same location.

The new 635,000-square-foot facility will be home to the company’s infant-food production facility, replacing Beech-Nut’s existing Canajoharie and Fort Plain plants.

The state of New York offered financial incentives to Beech-Nut to build the facility in Montgomery County that the company says will accelerate its growth and innovation plans, and further upgrade its infant-nutrition production technology.

The investment for the facility is estimated at $124 million with various Montgomery County and N.Y. state programs offering funds and financing assistance for which Beech-Nut could qualify.

Over the next few months Beech-Nut will develop a master plan for the project and work on the execution of grant agreements with the different state and county agencies.  Once complete, these plans will be presented to Beech-Nut’s board and parent company, the Switzerland-based Hero group, for final approval. With this consent, the new facility could open as early as fall 2009.

The project will result in the retention and relocation of the existing 337 Canajoharie jobs and the 19 jobs at Fort Plain, and in addition, will create 135 new jobs, including the relocation of 37 positions from Beech-Nut’s current corporate headquarters in St. Louis.