BALTIMORE – Holly Poultry recently announced plans to build a 37,500-sq.-ft. poultry processing plant in an industrial area of Baltimore.

The facility will include a test kitchen and new conveyors, marinating, sizing and deboning lines, the company said. Merritt Construction Services, Baltimore, is the contractor on the project. Merritt broke ground on the new processing plant which is located on the 17-acre site of the former Maryland Glass Corporation factory where blue bottles for Bromo Seltzer and containers for Noxzema brand face cleanser were manufactured.

“For the past several years, Holly’s growth has been hampered by lack of space,” Zach Fine, vice president of Holly Poultry said. “Now, working with Merritt, we are taking 17 acres of urban blight and turning it into a state-of-the-art processing facility.”

Additionally, the new plant will enable the company to expand its processing capacity while separating processing from the company’s wholesale commodity business. The company said the revamped organization will enable Holly Poultry to increase its share of existing markets, explore new markets and accelerate growth. Holly Poultry expects the plant to be fully operational in January 2017.

Following the completion of the new facility, Holly Poultry plans to renovate the company’s existing facility which will house the wholesale business.

Holly Poultry is a family owned business specializing in further processing of poultry products in addition to wholesale distribution of poultry, pork, beef and other refrigerated products. The company has operated in Baltimore City since 1990 and employs more than 180 workers. The new facility will provide at least 100 additional full-time jobs.