MORAINE — An Ohio company is bringing new jobs and life to the old General Motors building that has been empty for nearly two decades.
News Center 7’s Kylie Bridgeman spent the afternoon in Moraine learning how Shearer’s Foods is investing right here in the Miami Valley.
The new multi-pack snack production facility is the first of its kind for the company and it’s bringing hundreds of jobs to Montgomery County.
Back in 2008, when General Motors went bankrupt, the city of Moraine fought to not have the building demolished and was hopeful that the space would be redeveloped.
“I’ll tell you what, no one can redevelop this site if it becomes a parking lot, said Republican Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10). “Well, today is not a parking a lot. And our community is coming together with a redevelopment that’s going to cease years and a $100 million redeveloped site.”
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On Monday, Shearer’s Foods cut the ribbon on a new manufacturing facility that will produce snack-sized portions of chips, cookies and crackers.
“Our customers are moving to smaller and smaller bag size, and this unlocks that capacity and capability for our customers,” said Pablo Cussatti, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Shearer’s Foods. “And it’s the first facility that’s a complete multi-packed integrated system that we know of in the country.”
Cussatti said the business brings more than tasty treats. The business will generate job growth in the Miami Valley.
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“Currently we have over 200 jobs, hopefully expanding in the future to more than 600 jobs and careers that will be a significant long-term investment for the future of the company,” Cussatti said.
The expansion increases Shearer’s footprint to 17 locations across the country and is the fourth here in Ohio, where they were founded in 1974.
“Ohio is our home, that was a big piece of why we decided to date it,” Cussatti said. “We are an Ohio company at heart, and we’ll always be an Ohio company at heart.”
Officials said the Dayton area is an ideal location for this facility because of the ability to reach over 60% of the distribution network in just one day.
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