CJ Schwan’s, a food producer in the United States, held a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony in Salina, Kan., to celebrate the completion of a new 140,000sq-ft distribution center.

The company’s leaders joined Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, US Sen. Roger Marshall, Rep. Tracey Mann and other state and local officials at the event, which was held at CJ Schwan’s pizza production facility in Salina.

“We are deeply appreciative of the state and local officials who helped us bring this major investment in the Salina community to life. I am impressed with the commitment they have for economic growth and creating opportunities for the people of Kansas,” said CJ Schwan’s CEO Brian Schiegg. “Our new distribution center plays an important role in supporting our customers, brands and strategic growth plans for the future.”

Construction on the new distribution center began in 2023 and was completed earlier this year. The facility provides a centralized location to store and transport food made at CJ Schwan’s facilities throughout the United States, including the Red Baron and Tony’s pizzas made by CJ Schwan’s in Salina. The state-of-the-art distribution center — which is now the tallest building in Salina at 144 feet — includes a 38,000-pallet-position racking system with three automated pallet cranes, 12 loading docks and office space.

The new distribution center supports a much larger project that was completed by the company in 2023. At that time, the company added 400,000-square-feet of manufacturing space to its Salina campus. The manufacturing and distribution center projects together have resulted in the addition of about 225 jobs.

Overall, the CJ Schwan’s campus in Salina makes up the largest pizza production facility in the world, with more than 1 million square feet. The company first purchased the pizza plant in Salina in 1970, when the facility was only 18,000 square feet. The facility has seen more than 80 additions over the past five decades.

CJ Schwan’s has continued to invest in the Salina facility to support its growth initiatives in the retail and food-service markets in the US and abroad. To help facilitate its recent projects, the company has worked with various federal, state and local public agencies and officials in Kansas, including the offices of Gov. Laura Kelly and US Sen. Jerry Moran, the Kansas departments of Commerce and Transportation, the Salina Community Economic Development Organization, the city of  Salina, the Salina Airport Authority, Saline County and Salina Area Chamber of Commerce on economic development and incentive opportunities.