Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, in Mountain Lakes, held a ribbon cutting Tuesday with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno as it announced the official opening of its Cherry Hill operations. The state touted the expansion as a victory in the campaign to retain businesses in New Jersey.
Pinnacle said it spent more than $6 million on the new 57,000-square-foot facility, which the company said was converted from the shell of a former steel mill. The company added 90 new positions and retained more then 130 existing jobs with the expanded facility. According to Pinnacle, the company’s Cherry Hill operations moved from Executive Campus to Woodcrest Corporate Center.
Pinnacle is the maker and distributor of such food brands as Aunt Jemima, Birds Eye, Duncan Hines and Vlasic. Several transactional areas at the Cherry Hill operations were expanded because of growth fueled by its acquisition of Birds Eye last December, the company said in an e-mailed statement.
Guadagno compared Pinnacle’s decision to stay in the state to other companies, such as Honeywell International, in Morris Township, and Coca-Cola Enterprises, that chose to keep or expand operations in New Jersey.
“Every day, as we continue to make New Jersey a home for growth, we’re seeing a growing list of companies committed to staying and growing in the Garden State because of the [Chris] Christie administration’s efforts,” Guadagno said in a statement.
In addition to its own investment, Pinnacle received state incentives to support the expansion. The company was approved in May for a Business Employment Incentive Program grant worth some $920,000 over 10 years from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Pinnacle also was approved in June for a $182,600 Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant from the state for its job-retention efforts.
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
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