PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Pinnacle Foods has acquired a former Unilever manufacturing plant in Hagerstown, Md. The plant, scheduled to be operational in 2018, will manufacture products for the company’s Gardein plant-based protein business.
Gardein’s current manufacturing base is in Vancouver, B.C., and the new plant will give the company a foothold in the eastern portion of the United States.
“Pinnacle is pleased to be establishing a manufacturing presence in Hagerstown and working with both the community and the state of Maryland,” said Robert J. Gamgort, chief executive officer of Pinnacle Foods. “Gardein is a rapidly-growing, health and wellness brand that continues to expand its award-winning product offering and retail footprint, and this new facility will provide important capacity to enable the brand’s continued growth.”
Pinnacle Foods acquired Garden Protein International, the maker of Gardein, from Yves Potvin, founder and president, and TSG Consumer Partners L.L.C., a San Francisco-based private equity firm, for C$175 million ($153.8 million) in November of 2014.
