Apr 10, 2007 9:34 AM

Dole Food Co Inc celebrated the opening of its new $54 million, 285,000-square-foot Dole Fresh Vegetables’ salad packaging plant. This is Dole’s first facility in North Carolina.

The new plant currently employs more than 350 people, mostly from the surrounding area. Over the next 10 years, it may hire up to 900 workers. The facility will package salad greens delivered from around the nation for distribution in grocery stores throughout the Southeast. The facility will ship 750,000 packages of salad greens per day.

Dole’s commitment to North Carolina also includes the Dole Nutrition Institute, to be located at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. The campus is a public-private collaboration that will focus on life sciences research to improve the world’s health and well-being.