October 19/Milwaukee, Wis./Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- Sargento Foods Inc. is planning a new building and an expansion of existing space at its Plymouth headquarters to make room for 120 new workers the company expects to hire over the next five to six years.

"We are currently out of office space," said Barbara Gannon, vice president of corporate communications and government relations for the cheese company.

Family-owned Sargento processes cheese and makes cheese products at plants in Plymouth, Kiel, Hilbert and Elkhart Lake, Wis. The company has been growing despite the recession. Sargento said in 2008 it will get $3 million in Enterprise Development Zone tax credits and $1.25 million in additional state assistance to help with expansions at its plants in Plymouth, Hilbert and Kiel.

Pending municipal approvals, the company hopes to break ground by the end of the year on a 45,000-square-foot, three-story office building that will be located between two existing buildings in Plymouth. The company also wants to add 5,000 square feet to one of the older buildings.

The new space will be used for the human resources and health departments, and the lobby will be expanded, Gannon said. The new jobs will include office and production positions, she explained.

Sargento has annual sales of more than $900 million and employs about 1,400 people. About half of the workforce is at the Plymouth headquarters.

From the November 1, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition