Chore-Time celebrated a ribbon-cutting Friday with the help of Milford and Kosciusko County officials to mark the opening of its $7.1 million building expansion.
The expansion features 45,000 square feet of floor space, five new truck docks and a new truck drive along the north side of the Chore-Time plant in Milford, according to information from the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. Six new fabrication machines were purchased as part of the project, along with a variety of material handling and assembly fixtures and warehouse racks. The new space brings Chore-Time’s total square footage in Milford to 395,000 square feet.
The addition to the poultry product maker’s existing facilities was designed to improve the flow of raw materials into the building and the efficiency of manufacturing processes and delivery performance, the chamber release states. In requesting a tax abatement on the expansion from Milford Town Council in October 2014, Operations Manager Jeff Miller said the investment will help the company meet growing demand, especially in Latin America and Asia.
Chore-Time added approximately 80 full-time employees as the expansion progressed. A celebration event for Chore-Time employees is planned later this year.
The expansion project was announced in late 2014, with groundbreaking taking place soon after. Milford Town Council approved a five-year abatement on equipment and 10-year abatement on real estate after the expansion was announced.
Employees, machinery and inventory moved into the new space in July and August, and the project is now essentially complete, the release states. A few finishing touches, such as landscaping, are still planned.
“The construction team worked through 63 days of snow and rain,” Miller said in the release. “We appreciate the extra efforts that weather issues required.”
Chris Stoler, executive vice president and general manager for the Chore-Time Group, thanked Chore-Time employees in the release and said the ribbon-cutting “marks the culmination of a wonderful team effort.”
“The completion of the building complements the efforts of the whole team to increase the efficiency of our customer fulfillment process,” Stoler is quoted as saying. “This effort will continue in the months and years ahead, as we strive to further optimize and enhance the way we supply products and services globally. Our goal is continuous improvement in how we meet customer needs and support the growth in global demand for Chore-Time’s poultry, egg and pig production systems.”
(Story By The Times Union)
