Packaged foods giant Kraft Heinz plans to open a $400 million, 775,000-square-foot distribution center in DeKalb in 2025, the company said Thursday.
The Jell-O and Lunchables maker said the facility, which will use automated technology, will distribute more than 60% of the company’s food service business and about 30% of its dry goods business, including products like Heinz ketchup and Kraft Mac & Cheese, when completed. The company’s food service business provides products to venues such as restaurants and stadiums.
The facility is expected to bring more than 150 permanent jobs to the area, the company said.
“The DeKalb distribution center is expected to play a critical role in our larger distribution strategy,” said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, executive vice president and president, North America, at Kraft Heinz, in a statement. “It’s a testament to the dynamic, out-of-the-box thinking of our supply chain teams whose work enables us to operate with greater efficiency and agility every day.”
The company is receiving a 50% abatement on its property taxes for the facility for 15 years, said Paul Borek, executive director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation. The planned facility is located within the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone, which makes it eligible for the property tax abatement as well as for a sales tax exemption on building materials used to construct the facility, Borek said.
The Enterprise Zone program is administered jointly by the state and local municipalities, Borek said.
Kraft Heinz, which is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, has six manufacturing and distribution centers in Illinois. The company’s Chicago headquarters are located in the Aon Center in the Loop; it also has a research and development center in Glenview. The company said it employs more than 3,300 people in Illinois.
In a statement, DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes praised the project, saying the jobs brought to the area would “have a positive and lasting impact on our residents.”
“This positive impact is compounded by the additional diversification of our tax base, which will spur further interest in DeKalb for many years to come,” he said.
Kraft Heinz reported net sales of $6.5 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 7.3% over the year.
The company saw an increase in demand during the pandemic, as consumers looked to stock up on shelf-stable foods to eat at home. Also in 2020, it announced plans to cut $2 billion in costs over five years, putting the savings into marketing brands with high growth potential, including Lunchables and Heinz ketchup, in an effort to become more relevant to consumers.
The company renovated its Aon Center headquarters in 2021, when it had about 1,400 employees based there. At the time, it extended that lease into 2033.
