Schwan’s Company, a leading food producer in the United States, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate the completion of a 400,000-square-foot expansion of its pizza manufacturing facility in Salina, Kansas.
Company leaders joined government and civic officials in Salina — including Lt. Gov. David Toland, Sen. Jerry Moran and Rep. Tracey Mann — to celebrate completion of a project that took more than two years to complete.
“We are excited to complete this bold expansion project which gives us the ability to continue leading the industry in growth in the pizza category,” said Schwan’s Company CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios. “This expansion gives us more capacity and capability to bring America’s favorite pizza products to millions of families for decades to come and continue innovating to deliver new delicious products we know consumers will love.”
“On behalf of everyone at Schwan’s and our parent company, CJ, I thank the Salina community and federal, state and local officials in Kansas for helping us make this expansion a success. Most especially, I thank our employees at the facility for their contributions to the success of of this project and for continuing to make the highest-quality foods.”
Investing for Growth
Schwan’s Company, a subsidiary of South Korean food maker, CJ CheilJedang, is investing in the Salina facility to support its growth initiatives in the retail and food-
service markets in the U.S. and abroad.In 2020, the company announced plans to expand its pizza plant and add approximately 225 jobs to the community. The project includes state-of-the-art pizza-production lines capable of making 100 million pizzas a year, shipping and receiving docks, and office space.
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 nearly 1-million square feet. The facility has seen more than 80 additions over the past five decades.
Distribution Center Project
The company has no plans to slow its growth in Salina. In November, Schwan’s Company announced its intention to more than double the size of its distribution center space in Salina. The new 140,000-square-foot distribution center project, which began this year and is expected to be completed in early 2025, will expand the total distribution center space at the facility to 245,000 square feet.
The new distribution center will be used to store food produced by employees at the company’s pizza plant. The state-of-the-art facility will include a 38,000-pallet-position racking system with three automated pallet cranes. The company’s overall manufacturing-facility and distribution-center space combined in Salina will exceed 1 million square feet upon completion.
Burns & McDonnell, a 100 percent employee-owned engineering and construction company, has led the architecture, engineering and construction of the expansions.
Working with Kansas Public Officials
To help facilitate the project, Schwan’s Company has worked with various federal, state and local public agencies and officials in Kansas, including the offices of Gov. Laura Kelly and U.S. 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.
Schwan’s Company
Based in Minnesota, Schwan’s Company is a leading U.S.-based manufacturer and marketer of quality foods offered through retail-grocery and food-service channels. Its many popular brands include Red Baron®, Tony’s®, Hearth & Fire™, Big Daddy’s™, Villa Prima® and Freschetta® pizza, Mrs. Smith’s® and Edwards® desserts and bibigo® and Pagoda® Asian-style foods. The company is an affiliate of global lifestyle company, CJ CheilJedang. To learn more about Schwan’s, visit www.schwanscompany.com.
