Bud Antle Inc., a subsidiary of Dole, is investing $54 million to build and equip a vegetable processing plant in Gaston County, NC. The project is expected to create 525 jobs, expand Dole's distribution network and facilitate delivery of its salad products to southern and east coast customers.

London, England-based Tate & Lyle is investing $100 million in a plant expansion that will boost capacity of modified food starch and maltodextrin at its Lafayette, IN, plant.

Smithfield Packaging Co. has broken ground on an $85 million ham manufacturing plant in Kinston, NC. The 180,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility should be completed by April 2006.

Louis Dreyfus Corp. plans to build a $100 million soybean processing plant in Claypool, IN. When completed, the plant will employ 60 people and process more than 140,000 bushels of soybeans a day, which will be used to produce 250,000 tons of soybean oil and more than one million tons of soybean meal each year.

SYSCO Corp. is building a 300,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Selma, NC. The $45 million investment will create 600 jobs and is scheduled to be up and running in the spring.

Steuben Foods is planning an $18 million expansion at its Elma, NY, food and beverage manufacturing plant to increase capacity to process organic milk and soy products. The expansion is intended to be the first of a two-phase project, which, when complete, will add 75 jobs to the 300-worker facility.