Aug 11, 2005 9:10 AM, from staff and wire reports

At groundbreaking are, from left: Todd Gerken, general manager, Farmland Foods' Crete Plant; Tim Schellpeper, vice-president, Farmland Foods; Jamey Nygren, legislative assistant to Sen Ben Nelson; Dale Nellor, legislative assistant to Sen Chuck Hagel; Nebraska Gov Dave Heineman; James Nelson, president, Nelson Engineering & Construction; and Jim Harker, managing co-partner, Harker Cold Storage.

Farmland Foods will be moving forward on a $19 million project for acquiring and expanding the distribution center next to the company’s Crete NE pork processing facility. The project is expected to add 120 new jobs.

The Crete facility currently employs 1,872 workers producing fresh pork, hams, bacon, and sausage.

Construction already is underway on a 122,000-square-foot addition to the warehouse serving the processing center. Once the project is completed, Farmland will use the expanded facility as its western distribution center.

When completed in April 2006, the new facility will process all Farmland product being shipped west.

“Our new warehouse will bring more efficient handling, storage, and distribution to our system,” said Todd Gerken, general manager of the Crete plant. “This facility will give us the ability to manage inventory to meet customer needs for both fresh and frozen products.”