Celebrating 75 years of business in Springfield, officials with the local Kraft Foods manufacturing facility announced yesterday plans to pump a $100 million investment into the facility it's called home for 60 years.
The cash injection provides funding for a new product line - Kraft Singles with no artificial preservatives - and upgraded technology and equipment for making Kraft cheeses at the 2035 E. Bennett St. plant. The investment follows a nearly $50 million capital investment made in 2012, when Kraft received Chapter 100 industrial revenue bonds from the city, according to a news release.
“Our facility is extremely grateful for the productive partnership we have had with the Springfield chamber, the city and the county governments, and City Utilities through the years,” said Todd Sherman, plant manager of Kraft's Springfield facility, in the release. “We appreciate that they work to provide a supportive business climate in Springfield and assist us as we strengthen our local operations.”
To aid with the investment, Kraft would utilize CU's Community Economic Development Rider incentive program, offered to encourage local expansions. Granted to new or existing customers with a new electric load addition of 300 kilowatts per month or more, the rider provides discounts for five years: 25 percent in the first year, followed by 20 percent, 15 percent, 10 percent and 5 percent for the remaining years, according to
CityUtilities.net.
In conjunction with the investment announcement, Kraft celebrated 75 years in business during a ceremony yesterday at the Springfield plant. Kraft got its Springfield start on the second floor of a building on West Mill Street in 1939 and in 1954 opened its current plant, where it produces Kraft cheeses and dinners, according to the release.
The event - attended by government officials including Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander and Springfield Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Seifried - also served as means for Kraft to donate $25,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield and $15,000 to Ozarks Food Harvest.
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Food Groups Inc. (Nasdaq: KRFT) produces annual revenue for roughly $18 billion and employs 22,500 in the U.S. and Canada. The company employs 900 full- and part-time employees in Springfield, according to the release
KRFT shares were trading at $57.13 as of 9:04 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $50.54 to $61.10.[[In-content Ad]]
