WILLMAR, MINN. — Jennie-O Turkey, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corp., recently broke ground on a $30 million expansion project that will add 20,000 square feet to its Willmar facility.

“This is a significant project for the Willmar plant and will be a tremendous improvement in our production processes,” said Matt Schrupp, vice president of Supply Chain for Jennie-O. “Once completed, this addition will improve the plant operations, streamline processes to ease the work done by our team members and will benefit our facility long into the future.”

Several Jennie-O executives and workers were at the groundbreaking ceremony including Minnesota state representative Dave Baker and Willmar mayor Doug Rease.

“As mayor of Willmar, I am very pleased that Jennie-O is making a $30 million investment in our community by constructing an addition to the existing plant in Willmar,” Rease said. “Jennie-O is the largest employer in Kandiyohi County and has been a strong partner in our Willmar community for many years. The company now continues to invest in our community, and that is a very welcomed contribution.”

Gleeson Constructors & Engineers began working on the new plant additions and estimate that the project will be complete during late 2025 or early 2026.