Schwan's to Build Massive New Food Factory in South Dakota

The site will hire more than 600 new employees to make Asian-style food.

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Schwan’s

Schwan's Company, a subsidiary of South Korea-based CJ Foods, yesterday announced plans to buy a 142-acre site in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company will build a 700,000-square-foot Asian-style food production facility in the Foundation Park business development.

The factory will produce a broad range of Asian-style meals, sides, snacks and appetizers in the shelf-stable and frozen categories, primarily for Schwan's Korean food brand bibigo. The company plans to implement state-of-the-art automated production lines to streamline production.

The new manufacturing campus will include a warehouse and distribution center, shipping and receiving docks, and office space.

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The company first announced plans for the new plant in 2021. It is projected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and create more than 600 new jobs. In addition to the previously announced plans, the company will also open a regional office in downtown Sioux Falls to support its expansion and manufacturing operations. The regional office will add 50 new jobs, which could grow to 100 new positions once the facility is complete.

Schwan's worked with city and state officials to design a new wastewater treatment facility for the new manufacturing site. The facility will allow the company to discharge water to the city with the least amount of impact on the city's current operations.

According to Schwan's outgoing CEO, Dimitrios Smyrnios, the project will significantly increase production capacity. Smyrnios is being replaced by incoming CEO Brian Schiegg.

Based in Minnesota, Schwan's other popular brands include Red Baron, Tony's, Hearth & Fire, Big Daddy's, Villa Prima and Freschetta pizza, Mrs. Smith's and Edwards desserts and bibigo and Pagoda Asian-style foods.

CJ Foods bought a majority stake in the food distributor in 2018 for $1.8 billion. 

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