Vital Farms to expand Springfield plant

Vital Farms Inc. plans to expand its 2-year-old plant and add jobs in Springfield.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and its economic development arm, the Springfield Business Development Corp., announced this morning Vital Farms would add 64,000 square feet of space to its 84,000-square-foot plant in Partnership Industrial Center West. With the expansion, the company intends to hire 50 more workers at the plant that currently employs nearly 100, according to a news release.

The PIC West plant, known as Egg Central Station, processes all of the company’s eggs — between 1.2 million and 2 million each business day, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Company officials in March said the $17 million Springfield plant was a finalist for an expansion designed to increase egg production capacity to 35 million weekly.

“The strong partnerships we’ve found in Springfield have made it the perfect place for Egg Central Station,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, president and CEO of Vital Farms, in the release. “Springfield’s Partnership for Economic Development has been outstanding across all aspects of our business and made our expansion in Springfield an easy choice.”

Officials could not be reached for comment to provide more details. The release did not include an expansion cost and did not say whether development incentives are being offered.