Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company, is set to invest $108.7m to expand operations at its ice cream facility in Covington, West Tennessee, creating 428 new jobs over the next four years.
The project involves facility and site improvements for a 11,000ft2 engine room expansion and a 90,000ft2 parking lot expansion. It also includes boosting production capacity of the existing company-owned ice cream novelty and frozen dessert factory and the purchase of new machinery and equipment for additional production lines.
The Covington facility specializes in the production of ice cream and frozen novelty items for brands such as Breyers, Fruttare, Good Humor, Klondike and Popsicle.
Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty said, "Unilever has played a key role in the corporate landscape of West Tennessee for more than a decade, and I am pleased with the company's plans to expand in Covington."
"In addition to our ideal location and unbeatable transportation infrastructure, Tennessee boasts the best balance sheet in the nation, which is tremendous when international companies, like Unilever, seek to locate or expand in our state," Hagerty added.
Tennessee governor Bill Haslam said: "Part of our Jobs4TN strategy focuses on expanding companies already conducting business in the state, and today's expansion announcement is another step toward our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs."
