Richelieu Foods Inc. will expand its manufacturing capacity by leasing a 115,000-square-foot food grade manufacturing plant in Wheeling, IL.
The Braintree, MA-based company manufactures frozen and deli pizza and shelf stable salad dressings and sauces, and its customers span retail and foodservice channels across the U.S. and Canada. Richelieu Foods employs more than 800 employees across manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio.
“We are very excited to announce this expansion and for the capacity it will add to our manufacturing network,” said Richelieu’s President and CEO Tim O’Connor. “When the site is fully operational it will significantly increase our frozen pizza and dressings capabilities to a level required to support the growth of our customers. The expanded capacity will not only provide the ability to meet our customers’ demands today but for a number of years into the future. We believe this is major step to achieving our vision of becoming the premier supplier of private label pizza, dressings and sauces in the eyes of our customers, suppliers, employees and communities.
“The company evaluated several locations across a number of states and decided on the Wheeling site due to its geographic location, superior infrastructure and strong labor market,” O’Connor continued. “We expect the site to be fully operational in the second half of 2016 and to employ as many as 125 new workers over the next 12 months.”
O’Connor thanked the Village of Wheeling leadership team, Governor Bruce Rauner, and Congressman Bob Dold for their help in bringing Richelieu Foods to Wheeling and the State of Illinois.
