The Kansas City, Missouri-based American Italian Pasta Company (AIPC) has announced that its board of directors has approved the construction of a fourth North American manufacturing and distribution facility.
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This facility, AIPC’s fifth manufacturing facility worldwide, will be located in Arizona.
Timothy S. Webster, President and CEO, commented: “The recent acquisition of the former Borden brands and continued strong growth in AIPC’s existing businesses create the need and opportunity for additional production capacity.
“After evaluating options to expand the company’s existing domestic facilities, we determined that an Arizona facility provides the best opportunity to capitalize on significant transportation and logistics cost and service efficiencies. Furthermore, the combined benefits of locating the facility in the prime desert durum wheat growing region and increasing our competitiveness with key western US customers makes this initiative strategically important.”
Webster continued: “More specifically, by locating our next capacity addition in the West, instead of adding capacity at our existing manufacturing locations, we generate significant logistics savings and provide superior service to our west coast customers, while creating available capacity to support the continued rapid growth of our business sourced from existing plants. Adding this strategic location will further enhance our low-cost producer leadership in the industry.”
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By GlobalDataOnce the site selection is finalized for the project, AIPC expects to implement an aggressive construction timeline, which could result in initial pasta production as early as the fourth calendar quarter of 2002. The initial phase will provide approximately 100 million pounds of capacity.
In related news, APIC has also revealed that three directors were re-elected to three-year terms during the company’s annual meeting last Wednesday (6 February). Re-elected were Jonathan Baum, 41, chairman and CEO of George K. Baum & Company and a director since 1994; Robert Niehaus, 46, founder and MD of Greenhill Capital Partners, LLC, a director since 1992; and Richard Thompson, 50, managing partner of Iron Street Partners, LLC and co-founder of AIPC, a director since 1986.
At the meeting, APIC shareholders also ratified the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as AIPC’s independent auditor for fiscal year 2002.
