USA – General Mills Inc., an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods has announced plans to boost production of its Totino’s line of pizza snacks with an expansion to its plant in Wellston, Ohio which has seen a surge of demand for some of its most established brands during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Wellston plant, which makes frozen pizza and pizza rolls, got some attention a few months ago for its efforts in combating Covid-19.
Though it stayed open during state lockdowns, it avoided the sort of widespread outbreak that had struck other food processing plants.
General Mills said the investment will include a focus on improving operations to be more productive and efficient, and increasing overall capacity. The expansion will add jobs to the plant, bringing total full-time employees at the facility to nearly 900.
Totino’s originated in 1951 as a family pizza parlor in Minneapolis. Now, more than 300 million Totino’s party pizzas are sold every year.
General Mills said it has been offered a US$1 million development grant from JobsOhio and OhioSE. The grant will be used toward building, machinery, equipment and infrastructure costs.
“General Mills has been a proud and active member of the Wellston community for 18 years,” said Carolyn Mendel, plant manager of the Wellston General Mills. “We believe we have the best employees making food the world loves, and we’re grateful for the ongoing support from JobsOhio and OhioSE to expand this talent.”
Jackson County Economic Development Partnership also is supporting the project with infrastructure improvements and an enterprise zone agreement for the location’s new construction plans.
The biggest problem General Mills has seen during the pandemic has been production capacity in the face of a surge of consumer buying. Apart from the effort to expand its own manufacturing plants, the company is seeking out more contract manufacturers to help meet demand.
General mills an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. Headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, it is often nicknamed “Big G”.
The company markets many well-known North American brands and its brand portfolio includes more than 89 other leading U.S. brands and numerous category leaders around the world.
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