Ajinomoto Windsor (AW) has announced that it will invest $39 million to build a frozen appetizer production facility in Joplin, Missouri, not far from an existing plant in Carthage. More than 200 new jobs are expected to be created to staff the operation.
Meanwhile, AW plans to transfer ownership of its Piedmont factory to Today’s Food, a unit of frozen and refrigerated food products maker Tasty Brands, in 2018. Until then its production schedule will continue as normal.
“With the new facility in Joplin and our current Carthage plant, Ajinomoto Windsor will be centralizing our Missouri operations to create efficiency for suppliers, end users and management,” stated a press release issued by the company. “The Piedmont community has supported us for more than 20 years, and we are confident it will offer the same support to Today’s Food, LLC.”
Headquartered in Ontario, California, Ajinomoto Windsor was established in 2015 after Houston, Texas-based Windsor Foods became a member of Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Ajinomoto Co., Inc. AW distributes specialty frozen appetizers, snacks and entrees to retail stores, commercial restaurants and foodservice operators from 10 plants in eight states. Among ethnic Asian brands in the extensive portfolio, in addition to Ajinomoto, are Tai Pei, Simmering Samurai, Ling Ling and Golden Tiger. Mexican-style food brands include Posada and José Olé.
Its parent company is active in 28 countries and employs 33,295 people around the world. Founded in 1909 as a producer of monosodium glutamate (MSG) seasoning, Ajinomoto had net sales of ¥1,185.9 billion (approximately US $9.87 billion) in fiscal 2015. It established a full-scale frozen food business in North America in 2000.
In recent years Ajinomoto has been stepping up overseas operations in both food and chemical sectors, and has budgeted as much as ¥200 billion (about $1.79 billion) for further expansion. With more than half of current food product sales generated outside of Japan, the company has targeted a 30% increase in turnover to over ¥527 billion by fiscal 2020.
“We are considering acquisitions in three areas: overseas, cutting-edge medicine and flavor-related businesses,” said CEO Takaaki Nishii. “If there are good proposals, we will even surpass the limit.”
According to a recent Nikkei report, the company will invest ¥20 billion over the next three years in Ajinomoto Windsor to improve production capacity for Asian frozen foods such as gyoza (dumplings) and fried rice, while adding manufacturing lines for new products.
