Beech-Nut Building Big New HQ, Plant in New York
Hero/Beech-Nut is reportdly building a new headquarters and manufacturing plant at the town of Florida Business Park in Montgomery County, N.Y. The $124 million construction project, which covers 11 acres, will take the place of two older facilities that the baby food manufacturer runs in Canajoharie and Fort Plain, N.Y.
The company said the plant would be able produce as many as 100,000 cases of baby food daily when it opens a year from now.
"Despite some modest setbacks, including the wet weather in recent months, construction of our new facility is on time and on budget," president and c.e.o. Christoph Rudolf told the Albany, N.Y. Times-Union.
The project is providing about 400 construction jobs. With the facility, Montgomery County will keep 356 Beech-Nut jobs, which will move from the older plants. The project will also give rise to a further 135 positions.
Hero/Beech-Nut will receive up to $106.5 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project. However, the paper reported that there has been some opposition to the new plant from unions over at least one contract that went to a nonunion, out-of-state company, and Canajoharie mayor Leigh Fuller, who claims that the company has deserted his community.
The facility, which is seeking either LEED certified or silver status, will lower energy and water usage by 40 percent, compared with current operations, Rudolf told the Times-Union. Additionally, the company will continue to purchase apples, pears, and peaches from area farmers.
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. is a unit of Lenzburg, Switzerland-based Hero AG.
The company said the plant would be able produce as many as 100,000 cases of baby food daily when it opens a year from now.
"Despite some modest setbacks, including the wet weather in recent months, construction of our new facility is on time and on budget," president and c.e.o. Christoph Rudolf told the Albany, N.Y. Times-Union.
The project is providing about 400 construction jobs. With the facility, Montgomery County will keep 356 Beech-Nut jobs, which will move from the older plants. The project will also give rise to a further 135 positions.
Hero/Beech-Nut will receive up to $106.5 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project. However, the paper reported that there has been some opposition to the new plant from unions over at least one contract that went to a nonunion, out-of-state company, and Canajoharie mayor Leigh Fuller, who claims that the company has deserted his community.
The facility, which is seeking either LEED certified or silver status, will lower energy and water usage by 40 percent, compared with current operations, Rudolf told the Times-Union. Additionally, the company will continue to purchase apples, pears, and peaches from area farmers.
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. is a unit of Lenzburg, Switzerland-based Hero AG.