By ANDREA MCCANN

Indiana Correspondent

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — Indiana soon will be home to the largest plant-based protein operation in North America, as construction begins on a 230,000 square-foot, $310 million facility in Shelby County.

Greenleaf Foods SPC executives, Gov. Eric Holcomb, and local officials broke ground April 8 on a 57-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 74 and State Road 44 near Shelbyville. Greenleaf, which has headquarters in Chicago, is a wholly owned and independent subsidiary of Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods, Inc.

Its portfolio of brands includes Lightlife Foods and Field Roast Grain Meat Co., the Nos. 1 and 2 brands in the refrigerated alternative protein category, according to the company. It produces vegetarian and vegan foods using proteins from soybeans and peas. Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, other vegetables, apples, maple syrup, garlic, herbs and seasonings, wheat, and corn are a few of the other ingredients used in its products.

“This is a unique opportunity,” said Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler, adding the project takes advantage of a growing food consumption trend to use the state’s raw materials and services, as well as provide jobs. “It’s good for Indiana.”

Fresh refrigerated products represent approximately 24 percent of the total market and delivered 40 percent sales growth in 2018, he said. Citing Research & Markets’ category forecast, Greenleaf President Dan Curtin said the U.S. plant-based meat-substitute market size is expected to reach values of around $3 billion by 2024, and the new facility will be designed to expand.

“Our new facility will be a center of plant-based protein excellence that helps accelerate our company’s growth,” he said. “This will support our rich pipeline of innovative products that both satisfy increasing consumer demand and drive our continued leadership of this dynamic category in the U.S. and Canada into the future.

“Our world-class research and development teams are shattering what were once thought to be the culinary boundaries of plant-based protein products, and our new facility will take those ideas from development to commercialization.”

The facility is slated to become operational in 2020 and will produce approximately 60 million pounds of Lightlife Foods and Field Roast products annually once fully operational.

“With two category-pioneering brands in our portfolio, Greenleaf Foods is continuously exploring new opportunities to innovate within its product offerings,” Curtin said. “Across our broad product lines, we already offer pea-, soy-, and grain-based products, and our R&D is actively exploring other plant protein sources to bring to life our rich innovation pipeline for Lightlife and Field Roast in the way that best meets consumer needs.”

Greenleaf has U.S. facilities in Seattle and in Turners Falls, Mass. Shelbyville will more than double the company’s production capacity.

“This plant will be significantly larger than any in North America,” Kettler explained. He is excited about the prospects for Indiana’s farmers, as Greenleaf should be able to use commodities already raised by Indiana producers and also provide diversification opportunities.

“I know they’ll need soybeans and wheat for sure,” he said. “I’m not sure what else they’ll need.”

Curtin said the company currently sources ingredients through trusted suppliers from many places for its brands but will extend that network into Indiana. “Moving forward, we have a number of workstreams in place to source more ingredients from Indiana so as to extend our partnership with and support of the state and local communities.”

The project is expected to create about 460 jobs for Hoosier workers. “Job creation is going to be important,” Kettler said. “They’ll need companies to supply things like packaging. They’ll need services. They’ve got to have raw materials.”

He said some key positions will be filled this year, with the majority of hiring in 2020. The company will be hiring across all levels, including production, maintenance, food safety, and finance. It will also need electricians, mechanics, and operators. The city of Shelbyville will work with Greenleaf to set up job fairs closer to the opening date.

“We chose Shelbyville for many factors, ranging from the community and skilled labor to the infrastructure,” Curtin said. “We’ve been incredibly impressed with those we’ve had a chance to meet from the community. There is a large population base of skilled labor and impressive local support and infrastructure to support the new facility.

“The site is also centrally located in the U.S. and close to Indianapolis, with access to services and major highways and required zoning in place.”

Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun stated he’s thrilled Shelby County was chosen. “This project diversifies our employment options locally and regionally, as well as bringing tremendous opportunities to our community,” he said.

Holcomb said he’s confident the skilled workforce will be a crucial asset to support Greenleaf’s growth for years to come.

“In Indiana, we’re proud to support a global economy with more than 950 foreign-owned businesses here providing quality career opportunities for our residents. And we’re thrilled to welcome Greenleaf Foods SPC to that growing list and to our Indiana family,” he added.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Greenleaf up to $5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $1 million in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim the incentives.

It also offered up to $1.25 million to the community from the Industrial Development Grant Fund to support infrastructure improvements at the new site. The city and Shelby County approved additional incentives. Duke Energy also approved incentives to offset a portion of the energy costs.