Amy’s Kitchen buys production facility in Idaho

Amy’s Kitchen Inc., the Petaluma-based frozen-food maker, announced Thursday that it will open a production facility in a fourth state by purchasing a plant in Pocatello, Idaho, that was recently shuttered by H.J. Heinz Co.

Amy’s CEO and co-founder Andy Berliner said the plant was needed to help the company support its double-digit growth and will complement expansions already occurring in its other facilities, including in Santa Rosa.

“We’re excited for this opportunity to immediately begin increasing our capacity,” Berliner said in a statement.

The plant, which was closed by Heinz in June, is scheduled to start operating by December. Amy’s plans to initially hire 200 full-time employees and eventually increase to 1,000 employees under terms of the economic incentives provided by the state and the Bannock County Board of County Commissioners.

Under Idaho’s program, companies are eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 30 percent on income, payroll and sales taxes for up to 15 years. Amy’s will be eligible for a 26 percent tax credit, which is valued at an estimated $6.7 million over the 15-year period, according to a state official. The company has previously said its revenues are on pace this year to reach between $430 million and $450 million.

The county also approved a 75 percent property tax abatement that applies to the 500,000-square-foot facility as well as any other investments.

The announcement was made in Pocatello with Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, the Republican incumbent running for re-election, and local officials who touted that the Amy’s plant will bring in total wages of $342 million and state tax revenues of $35.7 million over the 15-year period.

Amy’s has been expanding based on growing popularity of its natural and vegetarian products, such as frozen burritos, soups and other entrées. It is adding 130,000 square feet of production space to its Medford, Ore., facility and is building a $95 million facility in Goshen, N.Y., to help with its distribution in the Eastern seaboard.

Amy’s has 1,000 employees in Sonoma County. It is expanding in a new facility in southwest Santa Rosa that will make a new line of entrées and snacks, creating 150 new jobs. The plant was downsized from an original plan for a multimillion-dollar project, which was scrapped because of costs associated with hooking up to the city’s water and wastewater system.

The company also is looking at Europe as well. The expansions comes as the company recently lost its executive vice president of manufacturing operations, Kevin Haslebacher, who took a job with Alvarado Street Bakery in Petaluma, according to his LinkedIn profile.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.