Lakeside Foods Breaks Ground on Facility Expansion

$40 million investment will expand frozen vegetable packaging capacity, add skilled jobs.

Manitowoc, Wis. (July 19, 2018) – Lakeside Foods, Inc. broke ground Wednesday on a 100,000-square-foot addition to its Manitowoc packaging facility, joined by city officials and economic development representatives.

Lakeside Foods Ground Breaking, Lakeside Foods expansion, Manitowoc

Mark Enter, Glen Tellock, Jeff Lund, and Joe Yanda break ground on the facility expansion.

The $40 million project will expand the facility’s frozen warehouse and refrigerated packaging space to meet the custom packaging needs of existing customers and increase capacity to foster growth and product innovation in the frozen foods category. The project includes redesigning processing operations to meet the highest food safety industry standards and installing automated packaging equipment.

“The existing facility packages more than 100 million pounds of canned and frozen vegetables per year for more than 100 private-label customers and operates seven days a week to keep up with current demand,” said Joe Yanda, Sr. VP of Operations for Lakeside Foods. “The expanded space and upgraded equipment will allow us to increase frozen food offerings and leverage new business opportunities.”

Lakeside Foods Ground Breaking, lakeside foods expansion, manitowoc

Joe Yanda speaks about the upcoming expansion to the Manitowoc Lakeside Foods packaging facility.

The project is supported by the City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Wisconsin Bank and Trust is providing project financing.  Construction will begin in August, with completion expected in early 2019. The company expects to hire for approximately 40 skilled positions as part of the investment.

“Lakeside opened our first pea canning plant in Manitowoc in 1887, and we remain committed to growing our business and providing living wage jobs in our community,” Yanda said.

About Lakeside

Lakeside Foods is a premier supplier of high-quality frozen and canned foods to the retail, food service and industrial sectors. Since its beginning in 1887 as a small pea-canning plant, Lakeside Foods has expanded to 13 processing facilities, producing canned and frozen vegetables, frozen desserts, appetizers and canned pet food that are distributed in 14 countries. For its vegetable segment, Lakeside Foods oversees growing and harvesting operations with a network of regional farmers, ensuring food quality and freshness from farm to table.  The company is family-owned and based in Manitowoc, Wis.