CHICAGO, IL
Bel Brands USA, a subsidiary of Paris-based Bel Group, celebrated the opening of its new $144 million Mini Babybel® plant in Brookings, South Dakota.
WNAX reports that South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard welcomed Bel Brands USA to Brookings during the grand opening. More than 200 guests were in attendance.
"South Dakota people are very hard-working and are very welcoming. We felt, as a French company, extremely welcome here. We've created some incredible ties so far with the community,” said Frederic Nalis, CEO of Bel Americas and President and CEO of Bel Brands USA, at the opening.
According to a press release, the Brookings plant is the largest industrial capital expenditures in Bel Group’s history. Construction of the new 170,000 square-foot facility on the 48-acre site began in July 2012 and uses state-of-the-art and proprietary manufacturing processes developed in Bel’s Evron, France facility.
“Our Mini Babybel volumes have practically tripled over the past five years. Last year, sales of Mini Babybel increased by 24 percent,” said Nalis. “Today, Mini Babybel represents a third of our volumes. We invested $144 million to build the new plant, which has a production capacity of more than 22 million pounds, or approximately 1.5 million Mini Babybel portions every day.”
The plant will use about 500,000 pounds of milk per day, which is being purchased through two dairy co-ops in the region, Dairy Farmers of America and Land O’Lakes.
Congratulations on the new plant!
