By NATHAN KING
Salina Post
Pizza was for breakfast this morning as Schwan's in partnership with its parent company, CJ Foods, announced plans for a new distribution center located at the Schwan's Pizza campus.
The state-of-the-art 140,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center will be built at its pizza-manufacturing facility in the Salina Airport Industrial Center. The news comes two years after Schwan's announced plans to expand its pizza plant with 400,000 square feet of new manufacturing space along with the creation of 225 new jobs.
The new distribution center space will be used to store food produced by employees at the company’s pizza plant. The facility will include a 38,000-pallet-position racking system with three automated pallet cranes.
“In 2020, we had the honor of announcing to the Salina community a major investment that would enable us to continue to provide delicious pizzas to millions of families for decades to come. I feel a lot of pride and I am also very much humbled by everyone’s execution on this project. We are set to begin making pizzas at our new facility in December, and this new distribution center will support our expanded production capabilities over the long term,” said Schwan’s Company CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios.
"We are going to have a distribution center that joins this building and our current distribution center. Because the Salina campus is going to be the hub of not just pizza brands, but we will bring bibigo Asian food, deserts, mix them and then distribute them out to our customers that are throughout the United States."
According to Schwan's, the additional distribution center project announced today will begin in 2023 and is expected to be completed in early 2025. Upon completion of the new distribution center, the company will have additional space of 245,000 square feet at its Salina plant, bringing its total manufacturing facility and distribution center space to more than 1 million square feet.
Governor Laura Kelly, Lieutenant Governor David Toland and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran attended the announcement and extended their congratulatory remarks and sense of optimism regarding the company's announcement.
"I commend the city of Salina, the Salina Airport Authority, Saline County, and all the folks with economic development and the Chamber of Commerce officials who made the effort to demonstrate to Schwan's that this was the place for the expansion," said Moran. "This was a national and international competition, and doesn't it make us feel good that Salina, Kansas, wins that competition."
Toland, who also serves as commerce secretary, spoke on the importance of involving international brands when it comes to economic development in Kansas.
"We know that none of this happened by accident. It happened through planning and vision and execution and Schwan's bringing together the best people," Toland said.
"I'd be remised if I didn't note that, on Day One of the Kelly administration, Governor Kelly directed that we rebuild our international team. And with CJ being the parent company of Schwan's, it has been so important for us to have the international team in Topeka work to build and foster relationships like this with Schwan's, as well as with so many other companies around the world."
Kelly congratulated and thanked Schwan's for their investment in the central Kansas economy and reflected on the economic success the state has experienced over the past years.
"It is clear that Schwan's will continue its massive impact on the central Kansas economy, its investment of $600 million dollars will fuel 225 jobs," Kelly said. "It is a great day for Salina and a great day for the entire state. I'm grateful to everyone who made this moment possible."
Kelly continued, "For back-to-back years, Kansas has attracted the most new capital investments in our state's history. Since the start of my administration, economic development projects have created and retained over 53,000 jobs, and have attracted over $14.7 billion of investment into the Kansas economy. As a result, we've won the coveted Gold Shovel Award for the last two years. And in 2021, the Governor's Cup for the most business investment per capita in the country - we are number one."
“On behalf of everyone at Schwan’s and our parent company, CJ, I once again want to thank the Salina community and federal, state and local officials in Kansas for helping us make this expansion a success. We especially want to thank our employees at the facility for continuing to make the highest-quality foods," said Smyrnios.
The event concluded with Schwan's employees and local, state, and federal government officials, trying various Tony's and Red Barron pizza products.
About Schwan's
Schwan’s Company is investing in the Salina facility to support its growth initiatives in the retail and food-service markets in the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 1952, Schwan’s Company is a subsidiary of South Korean food maker, CJ CheilJedang. Schwan’s Company focuses on making pizzas, desserts, and Asian-style foods in food-service venues, grocery stores, and other retail outlets throughout North America.
Schwan’s first began operating a pizza plant in Salina in April 1970, when it acquired the Tony’s® pizza brand and plant from a Salina businessman. Employees at the facility continue to produce Tony’s® and Red Baron® pizza for grocery stores nationwide, as well as pizzas for food-service venues such as schools.
During Schwan’s ownership of the plant, the facility has grown from just 18,000 square feet to nearly 1-million square feet. The facility has seen more than 80 additions over the past five decades.