CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A food production plant that will serve more than half of the United States is now online, creating Japanese mayonnaise and other sauces from a new facility at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Corporate Business Park.
Q&B Foods, the U.S. division of Japan condiment maker Kewpie, opened its $65.2 million, 160,000-square-foot plant on May 22, with 85 jobs and three of six production lines in operation. The plant took two years to build, and it was surprisingly on schedule, Q&B Foods President Jerry Shepherd told Clarksville Now during a tour on Monday.
Video by Wesley Irvin/Clarksville Now
In Clarksville, Kewpie will produce their full line of condiments, mayonnaise, salad dressings and sauces, Shepherd said. One of their top sellers in America is Kewpie Deep-Roasted Sesame Salad Dressing. They are also able to do contract work for other companies needing additional production for similar products.
Q&B does their own plastic bottle blowing on-site. Standard-sized thick plastic tubes are shipped to the facility, where they are heated in a mold to the needed product specifications.
Shepherd said one of the reasons for building the plant – with their other plant in Irwindale, California – is that 60% of their U.S. customer base is east of the Mississippi River. This plant will serve those customers as the Midwest and East Coast production facility, with a long-term view toward serving markets in Central and South America.
Q&B chose the site because it offers direct future rail access, along with plenty of room to expand with another building. An indicator of what Q&B could become: They’ve built two oil tanks on the site to serve the facility, but they’ve set up enough concrete pads for 10 more.
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