OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Hormel Foods has confirmed that it will open a new manufacturing plant in the Omaha suburb of Papillion, bringing about 200 jobs to the area.
Papillion Foods LLC, an offshoot of Hormel, recently bought a former Shopko distribution center in Sarpy County that closed last year, the Omaha World-Herald reported Tuesday.
Shopko filed for bankruptcy last year, closing some 20 Shopko stores in Nebraska and Iowa. The Papillion distribution center closed soon after, taking about 300 jobs with it.
Hormel said the center will undergo a $60 million renovation to convert it into a manufacturing plant for its food brands, which include Spam, Skippy peanut butter and Jennie-O turkeys. Hormel said in a written statement to the newspaper that it paid about $25 million for the building and the land it's on.
The company said it is targeting a November 2020 opening for the first phase of the plant. The Sarpy County facility will be Hormel's first manufacturing facility in Nebraska. The company also uses an independent supplier in Fremont.