HOLLAND (WHTC) — Kraft Heinz Company will relocate 100 percent of Grey Poupon mustard production to the Holland plant, at 31 W. 16th St., according to a statement to the media from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
This is a $17.2 million private investment expected to create 50 jobs.
“Heinz has a long history in the Holland community, providing jobs, supporting local agriculture and industrial businesses, and playing a vital role in West Michigan,” MEDC CEO Steve Arwood said in the statement. “The decision by Kraft Heinz to expand further will mean even more jobs for area residents for years to come. We’re excited that Michigan will be home to one of the largest mustard producers in the world and the iconic Grey Poupon brand. This expansion demonstrates to other global companies Michigan’s standing as one of the great agriculture centers in the U.S. with a business climate that enables their success.”
Kraft Heinz Company is the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage company, after a July, 2015, merger of the Kraft Foods Group and HJ Heinz Company, and the third-largest in the U.S.
The company plans to expand operations at the Heinz manufacturing plant in the city of Holland, consolidating 100 percent of the production of Grey Poupon mustard and insourcing the majority of Heinz Yellow Mustard to Michigan. The expansion netted the company a $500,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant for the project.
Kraft Heinz officials chose Holland over sites in other states and in return, city officials have offered the opportunity for a property tax abatement.
Lakeshore Advantage, a nonprofit economic development organization, helped persuade the company to choose Holland.
The move is part of a Kraft Heinz consolidation, which includes closing the Pennsylvania plant where Grey Poupon has been produced, according to The Morning Call, which indicated the company will cut 2,600 jobs in the U.S. and Canada over the next 18 months.
Michigan’s food processing businesses generate nearly $25 billion in economic activity, and employ more than 130,000 residents, according to the MEDC’s statement Wednesday afternoon.
