Barvecue, producers of wood-smoked, plant-based proteins, has opened the world's largest plant-based smokehouse. The 10,000 square foot production facility, called Carolina Smokehouse, opens for production with an initial capacity of making 800,000 pounds of Barvecue a year and expects to employ 15 team members as production ramps up.

Mission Produce has opened a 262,000-square-foot avocado ripening and processing facility in Laredo, Texas, the largest in North America. The plant also includes cold storage and packaging space. The building is located in Laredo’s Pinnacle Industry Center on 32.6 acres adjacent to the Rio Grande River and the Mexican Border. The new facility will allow Mission to capitalize on the continued popularity of its signature product in the nation’s busiest land port.

Kerry has opened an upgraded and renovated coating production facility in Rome, Georgia. As one of North America’s most innovative facilities of its kind, the newly expanded Rome site provides significant capacity, advanced capabilities and customized coating solutions to help foodservice and retail customers deliver great tasting products that win in the coated poultry, seafood, appetizer and alternative meat categories.

Deli Star is moving its operations into a new-build, 110,000-square-foot processing facility in St. Louis, which will start construction this summer and is expected to open in early 2022. The company's operations were previously located in Fayetteville, Illinois—about 40 miles east of St. Louis. The company is expected to generate 500 new jobs and nearly $100 million in investment for the surrounding area. 

GEA has built a new cheese making plant for dairy brand Madeta in the Czech Republic. The new plant, which has a staff of 150, can process up to 400,000 liters of milk a day – twice the capacity of the company's former facility. 

Monogram Foods, along with Paradigm Partners and Dacon Corporation, recently broke ground on a new 135,000-square-foot manufacturing and processing facility in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where Monogram will use the facility for their sandwich product lines. To mark the event, the Paradigm Partners, the Monogram Loves Kids Foundation, and Designed with Dignity philanthropy program by Dacon collectively donated $15,000 to Massachusetts-based Emmaus Incorporated. 

MULTIVAC officially opened its Training & Application Center for Slicing & Automation (TAC) at the company headquarters in Wolfertschwenden, Germany. The guests included Stephan Thomae, member of the Bundestag, Alex Eder, Chief Executive of the Lower Allgäu Regional District, and Beate Ullrich, Lady Mayor of Wolfertschwenden. After the guests had been greeted by Group Presidents, Guido Spix and Christian Traumann, the building was blessed by Father Thomas of the Parish of Bad Grönenbach, and Pastor Michael Kolbe of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Woringen. The guests were then guided through the building complex. The ceremony took place in accordance with the current COVID guidelines.

Plant-based, fungi-focused protein manufacturer Meati Foods is leasing 76,463 square feet of Class A industrial space at 25 North in Thornton, Colorado. Meati will occupy two-thirds of a brand new 114,700-square-foot building that was constructed in 2020. 

Cuisine Solutions has opened its new $200 million facility in San Antonio. The location brings a level of innovation and technology even higher than their other global facilities and will enable the company to meet increased demand for their sous vide products for foodservice providers, restaurants, airlines, hotels, and retail businesses.

Bush Refrigerated Vans has opened a new 15,000-square-foot production facility dedicated to the manufacturing and upfitting of refrigerated vans and trucks. The state-of-the-art facility, located just north of Cincinnati in Lebanon, Ohio, features a full range of machines for vehicle upfitting, including a spray system for insulation as well as dedicated areas for exterior decal application. Vans are customized to each customer’s needs and can be built to maintain refrigerated and frozen temperatures.