By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
The tallest building in Salina was celebrated with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony, as part of CJ Schwan's expansion project.
The new 144-foot distribution center at America's largest pizza manufacturer will open its doors to approximately 225 new jobs, more food production/distribution and support from state officials.
This distribution center adds about 140,000 square feet of space, bringing the total distribution center space on the CJ Schwan’s Salina campus to about 245,000 square feet. With this, the entire campus of the pizza plant exceeds the 1 million square-feet mark.
According to CJ Schwan's, the purpose of the facility serves as a central storage and distribution hub for products made by the company's production facilities, as well as products made by other CJ Schwan’s facilities across the country.
CEO of CJ Schwan's, Brian Schiegg stated this expansion 'marks the completion of a multi-year project.'
"This marks the beginning of a continual relationship that Schwan's has had in Salina since 1970," said Schiegg. "I am sure there is going to be many more exciting things to come down the road."
Schiegg added that Schwan's continues to grow because of the culture that Marvin Schwan started back in 1952.
"The culture that Marvin Schwan started is very much alive today and we have that hard-working, get it done culture," he said. "We make sure that we continue to provide great tasting products, at a great price consumers love and buy everyday."
With the partnership of South Korean global food and bioengineering company, CJ Cheiljedang, Schwan's grows its food distribution with the addition of asian cuisine. This will not only help the company save money, but it will help them be more efficient with their customers.
CJ Cheiljedang acquired a majority stake in Schwan's Company back in 2019. Since then, Schiegg commented that the company has done nothing but 'flourish.'
"CJ brought that burst of innovation, combined with the commercial capabilities of Schwan's has been really good for us," he said. "You have an entity from Korea, one from the US and you put them together with two different ways of thinking, has worked really well."
State officials such as US House Rep. from Kansas, Tracey Mann, US Senator for Kansas, Roger Marshall and Governor Laura Kelly each made an appearance at the grand opening celebration.
About CJ Schwan's
Based in Minnesota, CJ Schwan’s (also known as Schwan’s Company) is a leading U.S.-based manufacturer and marketer of quality foods offered through retail-grocery and food-service channels. Its many popular brands include Red Baron®, Tony’s®, Big Daddy’s®, Villa Prima™ and Freschetta® pizza, Mrs. Smith’s® and Edwards® desserts and bibigo™ and Pagoda® Asian-style foods. The company is a U.S.-based affiliate of the South Korean lifestyle company, CJ Foods.
To learn more about Schwan’s, visit www.schwanscompany.com.