Jonesboro selection still thrills Nestle

Story Date: 8/8/2002 9:50:23 AM

By AARON SADLER
Exactly a year after Nestle USA announced its decision to place a frozen foods manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, company officials are still beaming about their choice to locate in the city.
Howard Anderson, Nestle's construction manager, praised dozens of Jonesboro officials for their assistance during the first year of construction.
Michael J. Nelson, the new plant manager who moved to Jonesboro three weeks ago, said local residents have "really rolled out the red carpet" for him and the company.
"They've truly done a nice job of making me feel welcome," Nelson said. "People have really gone out of their way to make sure I was welcome in the community."
Nestle spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn said Jonesboro's community spirit and its quality workforce prompted the company to build in Jonesboro. The city has shown its spirit often in the past year, she said.
"We have been met with most gracious hospitality from everybody in Jonesboro," O'Hearn noted. "People have been so enormously helpful, and that makes starting a project like this much easier."
The company remains less than a year away from completion of the $165 million plant, which will produce Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine brands of frozen meals.
Nestle expects to employee about 1,000 people at the plant, located at the intersection of East Highland Drive and Nestle Way (formerly Cottage Home Road).
"From a construction standpoint we're right on time," Anderson said. "Steel work is complete. The external walls are complete. We're working with the offices and utilities right now and are in the process of ordering production equipment."
He explained crews were now completing the "time-consuming" aspects of construction, such as utilities and interior building work. Anderson estimated the building was about 60 percent complete.
"It's been one of the wettest springs and summers we've had, which has caused us some struggles on the construction site," Anderson said. "But we're still on time and on track with our scheduled startup."
The 325,000-square-foot plant is situated on 73 acres. Millard Refrigerated Services of Omaha, Neb., is building a 200,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center adjacent to the Nestle plant.
"Millard is our partner in this," Anderson said. "They have their shell complete and roofing going up. We're coordinating our site work with them."
Anderson described as a "very satisfactory and rewarding relationship" Nestle's work with city and county officials. He said the company was glad for the assistance of Jonesboro City Water and Light, the Greater Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce and the Jonesboro Unlimited industrial development group.
CWL is working on a $5 million wastewater treatment expansion so that the utility company can accommodate the plant's massive wastewater load.
The Stellar Group, based in Jacksonville, Fla., designed the building. The Jonesboro plant is the first constructed by Nestle USA's prepared foods division since the late 1980s. Other plants are in Springville, Utah; Gaffney, S.C.; and Solon, Ohio.
The division is headquartered in Solon, producing Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, Buitoni and Ortega products.
Nelson just finished hiring his senior management team. Managers for the first phase of production are now being hired, he said. Hiring of production workers will start early next year.
"We'll be doing some significant hiring the first of next year," Nelson said.
The company plans to start one shift of a production line, then commence the second shift 30 days later. Six months later, a second line will start. All production lines will be in operation three years after the start of production, Nelson added.

Copyright © 2002, Jonesboro Sun

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