Gorton’s Seafood will spend around USD 90 million (EUR 82 million) to open a new facility in Lebanon, Indiana, U.S.A. to expand its production capacity.
The Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based manufacturer of frozen fish sticks and other value-added seafood products said its capital investment in real and personal property is estimated to reach USD 89.3 million (EUR 81.4 million), the company said in a press release.
The facility will be constructed in partnership with Gorton’s distribution partner U.S. Cold Storage, which is planning its own USD 38.4 million (EUR 35.4 million) expansion of an adjacent facility that will add 60,000 square feet of storage space. Gorton’s plant at 419 South Mount Zion Road in Lebanon is scheduled to open in late 2025 and will bring around 160 new jobs to central Indiana, adding to Gorton’s current workforce of more than 470 employees across North America, the Boone County Economic Development Corporation said.
“Our investment in this new facility in Lebanon, Indiana, will allow us to continue our mission of making quality seafood accessible to everyone. We look forward to a strong partnership with the Lebanon community, as well as the state of Indiana, for many years to come,” Gorton’s Seafood CEO Kurt Hogan said.
Gorton’s flagship facility in Gloucester will continue to serve as the company’s primary production hub, with the new Lebanon facility adding incremental production capabilities and distribution efficiencies to drive further growth, the supplier said. Gorton’s declined to offer additional comment to SeafoodSource on the expansion.
Gorton’s owner Nissui Co. previously announced a JPY 17 billion (USD 113 million, EUR 105 million) investment into an expansion of its seafood-processing capabilities in the United States and European Union.
“Gorton's has the top market share in the home-prepared frozen seafood category in the United States, and in addition to its mainstay line of fried whitefish products using Alaska pollock, it is also working to expand products using shrimp,” Nissui President and CEO Shingo Hamada said. “However, the current production capacity centered on the head office factory has reached its limit.”
Frozen seafood suppliers have faced a challenging past few months, with lower overall U.S. frozen seafood sales. Even though frozen seafood prices declined 6.6 percent on average in January, sales slid 6.9 percent by value to USD 516 million (EUR 476 million), according to Circana data analyzed by 210 Analytics.
Gorton’s, which is celebrating 175 years in business, has consistently been ranked as one of the nation’s top frozen battered and breaded seafood brands. In January 2022, it debuted a refreshed logo and packaging. It also launched Air Fried Fish Fillets and Air Fried Butterfly Shrimp in retailers nationwide in early January 2023.
