The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced this afternoon that it’s providing Lakeside Foods in Manitowoc with up to $1 million in tax credits over three years to support the local company’s expansion of its frozen food packaging facility. The project, for which groundbreaking was held in July, will include a one-hundred-thousand square-foot addition to its frozen packaging and storage space created to meet the custom packaging needs of existing customers and increase capacity to foster growth and product innovation of the frozen foods industry. The expansion and upgraded equipment will also allow Lakeside Foods to increase frozen food offerings and leverage new business opportunities.
Senior Vice President of Operations for Lakeside Foods Joe Yanda said in a news release “We considered numerous factors when planning our expansion and ultimately the decision came down to the strength of Wisconsin’s food processing industry—a solid business infrastructure and the quality of the state’s workforce. The culture of Wisconsin as an agricultural state in which people value honest work aligns well with Lakeside’s business of harvesting and selling produce and our commitment to delivering on the expectations of our customers.”
The $40 million project is expected to create 48 new jobs with the WEDC tax credits contingent upon the number of jobs created and amount of capital investment made over the three-year period. The project also supported by the City of Manitowoc and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to be completed by mid-2019.