RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell announced Tuesday that McKee Foods Corporation will invest $19 million to expand production at its manufacturing facility in Stuarts Draft in Augusta County. The company will create 78 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed against Arkansas for the project.
Speaking
about today’s announcement, Governor McDonnell said, “McKee Foods has
been an industry leader in Augusta County for more than 20 years,
and continues to grow due to increased product demand. This significant
investment and 78 new jobs further augment the company’s status as one
of the region’s largest employers and a driver of the local economy.
McKee Foods is a great corporate partner to
Virginia.”
“McKee
Foods’ ongoing investments and career opportunities have enriched the
Augusta County community and beyond for more than two decades,” said
Jim Cheng, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “This expansion
represents a re-commitment from the company to the region and to the
Commonwealth, and I look forward to McKee Foods’ continued success in
the next 20 years to come.”
Headquartered
in Collegedale, Tennessee, McKee Foods Corporation represents a group
of companies that provide a livelihood for more than 6,000
employees, and has annual sales in excess of $1 billion. The company’s
products are available across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and
on U.S. military bases around the world. While McKee Foods Corporation
is best known for its line of Little Debbie®
brand snack cakes, product lines also include Sunbelt®, Heartland® and
Fieldstone™ Bakery.
“McKee
Foods initially recognized the strategic advantage of building a
manufacturing facility in Augusta County more than two decades ago,”
said
Randy Smith, Vice President, McKee Foods Stuarts Draft operations. “A
major point in that decision was seeing that the Shenandoah Valley gave
us access to a highly-skilled workforce. Today, we’re pleased to be able
to expand our production capabilities here,
to employ more of our neighbors and to add to the more than $46 million
annual economic impact we currently make — all for the betterment of
our local communities.”
The
Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Augusta County
and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership to secure the project for
Virginia.
Governor McDonnell approved a $200,000 grant from the Governor's
Opportunity Fund to assist Augusta County with the project. The company
is also eligible to receive a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit.
Through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, the
Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide funding and
services to support the company’s recruitment, training and retraining
activities.
“Augusta
County is justifiably proud to have been selected by McKee Foods for
its next expansion,” said Tracy Pyles, Chairman of the Augusta County
Board of Supervisors. “McKee has been a perfect corporate partner for
our community that we greatly appreciate. The credit for being honored
with this significant investment surely goes first to the McKee family
for its continuing trust in this County, and
then to the employees who had to have been a major factor in the choice
to further invest in Stuarts Draft. It is a blessing to know that
Augusta County's tradition of producing wonderful employees with a
superior work ethic continues in the workforce at
Stuarts Draft. Thanks to all.”
“The
greatest concern for folks in our part of Virginia is jobs, and my
focus has been to encourage local manufacturers like McKee Foods to
expand
their operations,” said Delegate Ben Cline. “For over 20 years McKee
has been an integral part of the Stuarts Draft community and the
addition of 78 new jobs will be a major boost for Augusta County’s
economy.”
1 comment:
It was a great day for Draft. It is an interesting fact to note that the new line, producing mini-donuts will be built completely inside the existing plant building.
I talked with McKee's first employee on the site, 22 years ago, who said they built the plant in 90 days! It is actually in an area with a bit of potental for a seismic event, so the entire building is tied together with steel cable to keep it from coming apart in the event of something similar to what happened in Mineral.
McKee operates plants in Tennessee, Arkansas and Stuarts Draft. They own two airplanes and use them to effectively use their specialized engineering staff to serve all locations.
McKee is a company with strong values. The McKee family are Sabbath keeping Seventh-day Adventists and suspend all operations on the Sabbath. The plant has many workers who started with the company 22 years ago still employed there.
Oh, the donuts are good too!
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