Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, a producer, marketer and distributor of specialty food products, announced plans to build a 212,000 square foot, state-of-the-art sandwich assembly facility in Phoenix, AZ. The facility, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2017, will complement the company's sandwich production facilities in Reno, NV, Columbus, OH, Edmonton, AB and Montreal, QC. In total, once the Phoenix plant is complete, the company will have approximately 610,000 square feet of state-of-the-art sandwich production capacity.

"The strong growth of our sandwich business in recent years has been driven by several emerging consumer and industry trends that are rapidly gaining momentum," said Mr. George Paleologou, President and CEO. "Our continued investment in the sandwich category will not only help to ensure we maintain our leading role in responding to these trends but will also further enhance our ability to offer large national and international customers with unique product and supply chain solutions," added Mr. Paleologou.

The construction of the Phoenix facility, which is expected to cost US$29.0 million, will consist of modifying a newly constructed leased facility to allow for the installation of up to 16 high speed sandwich assembly lines. Initially the facility will have six lines with additional lines being added as needed to support its growth.