AUSTIN, Minn. (AP) — Food processor Hormel Foods Corp. is opening a new plant in Dubuque, Iowa, on Wednesday, the first new production facility the company has built in more than 25 years.
The 348,000-square-foot, $89 million plant employs about 90 people and could employ up to 300 at maximum capacity.
Currently, the plant is producing one line of Hormel microwave meals.
The plant was built according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally sustainable construction.
Hormel said it is expected to be one of the first manufacturing plants — and the only refrigerated food processing facility — to reach this certification and will use at least 25 percent less energy and water than a plant built to meet current building codes and industry standards.
