Schwan’s Company, a leading food producer in the United States, announced plans to build a new 400,000-square-foot expansion at its pizza-manufacturing facility in Salina, Kan. The announcement of the project comes as the company celebrates the 50th year of operating a pizza production facility in Salina.
 
The new facility will result in up to 225 new, full-time jobs by 2023 in Salina and include automated state-of-the-art pizza-production lines, shipping and receiving docks, and office space. The company already employs 1,125 people at its current 550,000-square-foot production facility and distribution center in Salina. Additional projects are planned for the Salina site over the next several years as Schwan’s plans for continued growth in the company’s pizza business, representing an investment of several hundred million dollars in total.
 
The company is investing in the Salina facility to support its growth initiatives in the retail and food-service markets in the US and abroad. Founded in 1952, Schwan’s Company is a subsidiary of South Korean food maker, CJ CheilJedang. Schwan’s Company focuses on making pizzas, desserts and Asian-style foods in food-service venues, grocery stores and other retail outlets throughout North America.
 
Schwan’s first began operating a pizza plant in Salina in April 1970, when it acquired the Tony’s® pizza brand and plant from a Salina businessman. Employees at the facility continue to produce Tony’s® and Red Baron® pizza for grocery stores nationwide, as well as pizzas for food-service venues such as schools.
 
During Schwan’s ownership of the plant, the facility has grown from just 18,000 square feet to more than 550,000 square feet, including a distribution center that was added in 2006. The facility has seen more than 80 additions over the past five decades. As a part of the newest expansion, the company is adding state-of-the-art production lines and equipment, capable of making more than 100 million pizzas per year. The facility will also include investments in technology and protocols designed to minimize risks during pandemic situations such as COVID-19, following CDC guidelines and applying key learnings from the on-going global crisis.
 
www.schwanscompany.com