Nestlé to Expand its Frozen Food Plant in Arkansas

05/03/08 Nestlé Prepared Foods Company announced its plans to invest over $60 million to expand its frozen foods manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility, which opened in 2003, currently produces STOUFFER’S and LEAN CUISINE frozen prepared meals. With the expansion, a new production line will be installed and a new bakery will be constructed which will allow pizza production for both brands to begin in Arkansas.

The factory will expand by an additional 50,000 square feet of manufacturing area to the north of the plant where the new bakery will operate, producing a variety of different pizza bases. A new production line will be installed in the current manufacturing facility to make and package the pizzas sold under the STOUFFER’S and LEAN CUISINE brand names.

Between the installation of the new production line and the construction of the new bakery, as many as 200 new jobs in Jonesboro will be created when the new bakery and production line are operational. Total employment at the Nestlé facility is now nearly 600, with 200 jobs added in the last six months due to the success of the STOUFFER’S and LEAN CUISINE brands, which are sales leaders in the competitive frozen meals category.

Nestlé has selected Nation Pizza Products of Schaumberg, Illinois, to operate the new bakery, which will be connected to the existing Nestlé facility and is designed for future expansion. Nation Pizza is recognized for their depth of experience that comes from their specialization in dough-based products. “The company has clearly demonstrated their expertise in this field and we’ve found the team there to be strong operationally,” commented Chuck Dries, Director of Operations for Nestlé Prepared Foods Company. “We look forward to working with Nation Pizza Products to bring pizza production to Jonesboro, in 2009," stated Dries.

“The announcement of our decision to expand the facility in Arkansas reflects our commitment to investing in manufacturing capacity to help us meet demand for our successful STOUFFER’S and LEAN CUISINE brands. We’ve seen very good success with our casual products such as LEAN CUISINE Brick Oven Style Pizzas and our STOUFFER’S CORNER BISTRO Flatbreads, which we will begin to make in Jonesboro once this project is completed, ” said Dale Morsefield, Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations of Nestlé Prepared Foods Company.

"This new pizza production line and new bakery are great news for the Jonesboro area in two ways," commented Andy Darley, who moved to Jonesboro last August as Nestlé factory manager. "First, investment in new construction always carries with it a multiplier effect. The construction work itself helps to create new jobs and drive business growth in the community. Second, as many as 200 new positions will be created when we're fully operational. This reflects well on the current Jonesboro workforce which has shown they are committed to making high quality products at competitive operating costs."