The family owned and operated company has been making vanilla and pure flavor products at the Waukegan location for nearly 20 years. This is the fourth expansion or relocation for the company that has been in operation since 1907.

“When our parents moved the company into a 15,000-square-foot plant in Lake Bluff in 1982, they never thought they would outgrow that facility. Since then, we’ve moved to Waukegan and have grown from 33,500 square feet to 62,300 square feet,” said Craig Nielsen, CEO. “I think we can safely say we filled it, and then some.” The project, which was completed in January, added 24,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and an additional 4,800 square feet of office space. The company has increased its storage capacity by approximately 200 percent and has ample room for an additional fill line.

The 1,100-square-foot test and demonstration kitchen allows Nielsen-Massey to develop recipes and products directly in the plant and is also a venue that will be used for promotional and educational videos.