Buddig To The Rescue! New Facility in Montgomery Takes Over Former Butterball Location
When Butterball announced plans to close the its Montgomery plant back in July, village officials were shocked and disappointed in the potential loss of 600 jobs plus the investments the village had made to fund improvements to the former Gusto Packing facility.
Six months later, enter a new corporate tenant: renowned U.S.-based lunch meat producer Carl Buddig and Co.
Carl Buddig and Company and the village of Montgomery announced this week that Buddig has acquired the former Butterball manufacturing facility at 2125 Rochester Drive as a location for Buddig’s fourth manufacturing site in the state. Production at the 280,000-square-foot facility will begin this spring.
The sale closed on Jan. 19, and the acquisition will expand the Carl Buddig Illinois-based workforce to more than 1,800 employees. Previously, in June 2017, the company purchased Rupari Food Services in a bankruptcy sale that saved the jobs of 200 employees.
“Expanding our manufacturing footprint to relieve pressure from current facilities and add capacity to address growing production demands from our customers has been a No. 1 priority for the company,” said Bob Buddig, CEO of Carl Buddig and Company. “When the Montgomery facility became available, we jumped on the opportunity immediately. The new plant enables the company to significantly expand production of existing products and new products to be developed in the future.”
Tom Buddig, executive vice president of marketing of Carl Buddig and Company, said it’s fitting the company is undertaking this expansion in the same year it’s celebrating the company’ 75th anniversary.
“Servicing our customers’ needs and serving up great tastes for consumers got us to where we are today,” he said. “This expansion is an important step in making sure this continues and prepares our family owned company for the next 75 years and generations to follow.”
Dan Wynn, Buddig’s chief operating officer, said the expansion will create an additional 250 to 300 jobs in the coming year.
“We are not simply transferring jobs from our current facilities,” he said. “We are creating new jobs to accommodate growth and work more efficiently. Buddig’s corporate office will remain in Homewood, and production will continue in all of the South Holland facilities.”
Karen Noble, executive vice president of human resources, offered even more good news for local workers.
“Since the Montgomery facility was previously used as meat processing plant before closing in July 2017, we believe there may be a number of trained and qualified workers living in the area,” she said. “We have already posted open job positions for the new Montgomery location on the careers page of our Buddig.com website. We encourage anyone interested in working at the new Montgomery location to apply.”
About Carl Buddig And Company
Carl Buddig and Company, based in Homewood, is owned and operated by third generation Buddig Family members. The company is also proud that in recent years fourth generation family members have also joined the organization.
In 2018, Carl Buddig and Company will celebrate its 75th year of feeding family traditions with the very best in taste, variety and convenience.
In addition to manufacturing and distributing great-tasting lunch meat products, Carl Buddig and Company is the parent company responsible for manufacturing and distribution of Old Wisconsin® hardwood-smoked sausage and meat snack products in supermarkets across the country. In June 2017, Carl Buddig and Company entered the barbecue and specialty meats business and is now manufacturing products under the Kingsford Brand.
To learn more, please visit www.buddig.com and www.oldwisconsin.com and www.KingsfordBBQMeats.com
SOURCE: Village of Montgomery news release
