Minnesota-based SunOpta Inc. will build its new 285,000 square-foot plant-based food and beverage production facility in Midlothian and create 185 new jobs, the company said Thursday.
Minnesota-based SunOpta said it is in final stages of negotiating lease to build a "new mega facility" in Dallas-Fort Worth.
SunOpta investor presentationSunOpta recently told investors it was in the final stages of negotiating a lease to build what it described as a "new mega-facility" in Dallas-Fort Worth. The company signed a 15-year lease on Aug. 13 with an option to extend.
The Midlothian plant is expected to be operational in late 2022, SunOpta said. The initial 285,000 square-foot facility will also have the ability to expand up to 400,000 square feet.
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Midlothian is giving SunOpta an eight-year tax abatement valued at about $7.5 million. The company also will be eligible for a grant of up to $200,000 for creating and retaining jobs, according to Midlothian city council documents.
"The city of Midlothian is the perfect choice for us with a business-friendly local government, a skilled labor force, and a vibrant local community. In combination with our plants in California, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, the Texas location creates a competitively advantaged, 'diamond-shaped' national network," SunOpta CEO Joe Ennen said in a statement.
The company also has expansions underway in Allentown, Pa., and Modesto, Calif., which Ennen previously said would allow SunOpta to double its business. Through the first six months of fiscal 2021, SunOpta's revenue totaled $409.9 million, up nearly 5% from the same period a year ago.
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Alternative milk drinks are gaining in popularity, with U.S. rising 20% last year to $2.5 billion
Oatly, another plant-based milk producer, also recently announced it will build a similarly-sized manufacturing plant in Fort Worth.
