VernDale Products is in the process of building out a second production facility in Detroit, an investment that is expected to lead to the creation of more than a dozen new jobs in the Motor City.
The 55-year-old company makes powdered milk that is used by premium chocolate manufacturers. It was originally located near the Detroit River in the footprint of what is now the Renaissance Center. It now has a production facility at 8445 Lyndon on the city’s west side. It is currently working on building a new facility at 18940 Weaver St, also on the city’s west side.
"We're limited at our production capacity at this facility," says Dale Johnson, president of
VernDale Products. "We have a need for a redundant site in case there is a problem at one site."
The company has hired six people over the last year to keep up with production demands, expanding its staff to 41 employees. The company expects to hire another 13 when the new production facility opens up midway through next year. The $16 million investment also comes with a $436,000 business development incentive from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The city is is also offering a property tax abatement.
VernDale Products looked at a number of different sites across the region and the Midwest. It chose to stay in Detroit because of the existing milk-production infrastructure. Johnson also adds that milk production in Michigan is on the upswing, which isn't necessarily the case in other midwestern states.
"We looked at a lot of different options," Johnson says.
Source: Dale Johnson, president of VernDale Products
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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