Michael Foods Egg Products Co. is planning to build an $85 million egg processing facility in the greater Des Moines area.
The announcement came last week as the Iowa Economic Development Authority approved about $4 million in state incentives towards the nearly 150,000-square-foot facility. It will process eggs and pre-cooked egg products and was hailed by local officials as the largest manufacturing plant to locate near Des Moines in the past 10 years.
It will be built just south of Des Moines in the city of Norwalk, which is also expected to provide more than $10 million in local taxpayer incentives.
Based in Minnetonka, Michael Foods is a $2 billion subsidiary of Post Holdings, Inc. It manufactures and distributes food service, food ingredient and retail products, and is the nation's largest processor of value-added eggs.
Company brands include Crystal Farms dairy products, Better'n Eggs, AllWhites liquid eggs and Simply Potatoes.
Norwalk officials said that Michael Foods considered other sites in Iowa and Nebraska but ultimately chose the greater Des Moines area because of its strong economy, quality of life and workforce, and proximity to highways and airport to feed the company's supply chain.
The project is expected to create more than 150 new jobs. The company plans to begin construction this spring, with the plant to be operational by late 2019.
