With sales of Skittles soaring, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. said it will spend $50 million to expand its Yorkville, Ill., factory by 145,000 sq. ft. to start making the candies there by 2016.
The Yorkville plant already makes Juicy Fruit and Doublemint gums and Life Savers. The facility employs 300, but the expansion will add 75 full-time manufacturing jobs.
Skittles for the U.S. currently are made in Waco, Texas, and will continue to be made there. They're also manufactured at five other facilities around the world, including one in Yonghe, China, which was expanded in 2012. Wrigley and parent Mars Inc. plans to add a production facility in Porici, Czech Republic, in 2015.
The deal included tax incentives and grants from the state of Illinois.
Local media reports said Skittles have enjoyed double-digit sales increases the past few years, much of that overseas.
