Mar 2, 2010 9:53 AM

From left: Bob Sewall, Blount’s vice-president of sales and marketing; Beverly Eddy of Blount; Todd Blount, president of Blount; Matt Berkowitz of Legal Sea Foods; Fred Casinelli, president of Sysco Boston; and William Bigelow, Blount’s director of research and development.

Blount Fine Foods has broken ground on a 58,000-square-foot expansion to its Fall River MA headquarters. The expansion makes room for more production space, installation of a large soup chiller, new soup fillers, and improved packaging capabilities. Blount will also be building new cold processing rooms to expand its entrance into the dip, spread, and salad business.

The project includes 46,000 square feet of additional packaging, freezer storage, cooler storage, and a new shipping/receiving dock, and a 12,000-sq-ft mezzanine over packaging will be used for dry storage. The project nearly doubles the existing 65,000-sq-ft headquarters facility Blount moved into six years ago, which at that time allowed Blount to triple production.

Guests helping Blount mark this milestone included William Flannigan, mayor of Fall River; state Rep Kevin Aguiar of Fall River; Fred Casinelli, president of Sysco Boston; Matt Berkowitz of Legal Sea Foods; and Steve Karam, chairman of the Greater Fall River Development Corp.

Blount awarded the design and construction of the $13 million project to CMC Associates Inc of Quincy MA, which will manage it in two phases to allow the facility to remain in continuous operation throughout the project. Phase 1 will be completed in summer 2010. Phase 2 will be initiated immediately after completion of Phase 1 and should be completed in late 2010. The project includes an expansion of the central refrigeration system, which will undergo a controls upgrade to allow Blount to refrigerate the facility using current energy efficiency measures. The project also includes high-speed doors, energy-efficient lighting, and a white roof.

Blount is a family owned company that has been processing food since 1946. It says it is the largest manufacturer of lobster bisque in America and produces more than 350 soup recipes. Its product lines include fresh and frozen gourmet soups for foodservice and retail. The firm operates production facilities at its Fall River headquarters and in Warren RI.