Food Plant Openings and Expansions March 2026
EIC Alyse Thompson-Richards recaps some recent plant openings and expansions in the food and beverage industry, including Smithfield Foods’ South Dakota facility, Nestlé Purina’s Brazilian pet food plant, J.M. Smucker’s pet food plant expansion, DrinkPAK’s Texas beverage facility, Dainty Foods’ Ohio plant and Tovala’s Illinois processing facility.
Smithfield Foods to Build New Facility in South Dakota
The proposed facility will feature advanced automation technology and a streamlined design, delivering efficiency gains to Smithfield’s fresh pork and high-value packaged meats operations.
Nestlé Purina Opens $481M Pet Food Facility in Brazil
The Vargeão site is Purina’s largest investment in Brazil and will nearly double the company’s wet pet food capacity in the country when fully operational.
J.M. Smucker to Invest $20.5M in Kansas Pet Food Plant
The project includes a capital investment of $17.8 million in real property and $2.7 million in equipment.
DrinkPAK Opens Beverage Manufacturing Facility in Texas
Completed by ARCO National Construction, the facility supports DrinkPAK’s expansion into North Texas and reflects a growing industry trend toward flexible, high-capacity contract beverage manufacturing.
Dainty Foods to Open Ohio Manufacturing Facility
The 250,000-square-foot facility will expand the company’s production of rice and ready-to-heat meals in North America.
Meal Delivery Service Tovala to Open Processing Plant in Illinois
The facility will be developed as a build-to-suit with construction scheduled to commence in March 2026 and substantial completion expected in the second quarter of 2027.
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