GREENVILLE, MISS. — Mars Inc. plans to invest $31 million and add a research and development application center to its plant in Greenville. The plant produces products under such brands as Uncle Ben’s, Seeds of Change, and Abu Siouf, which is exported to the Middle East.

The company opened the plant in 1978 and has expanded it several times since then. Lines were added in 1987, 2007 and 2011. Today, the plant sits on 110 acres and has 250,000 square feet of space.

“This is an exciting day for Mars Food as this investment will modernize our Greenville facility, increase our site’s capacity and allow us to build a state-of-the-art research and development application center that will serve our global innovation efforts,” Apu Mody, president of Mars Food North America.