An official groundbreaking ceremony was held by Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch on Thursday for their brand-new $20 million egg processing facility in Noble County.
“It’s the right move for us as a company, and [we have] a fantastic location and community presence here,” said Cody Herbruck, Associate Vice President of Operations for Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch tells Michigan Ag Today. Herbruck is the fourth generation of his family to own and operate the company.
The company is building a 75,000-square foot facility in Kendallville—not far from the state border with Michigan. Freedom Builders, based in Middlebury, Indiana, is the general contractor on the project.
“We’re based out of Saranac, Michigan. That’s where my Grandpa and Grandma founded the company back in 1958,” says Herburck. “But, we have a lot of operations in the northern Indiana area and a lot of egg-laying hens here. So, for us, the timing was just right to have a processing plant here as well.”
He says the new facility will process about 420 million eggs each year once the facility is fully operational.
“It’s takes a lot of eggs to feed America, and we’re just a small piece of that,” he says.
Herbruck’s is the largest egg producer in Michigan, with additional locations throughout Indiana and Pennsylvania. The company supplies billions of farm-fresh eggs to retailers and food service outlets across the country.
Herbruck adds that both Indiana and Michigan provide outstanding economic opportunities—not just for the poultry industry—but for all of agriculture.
“Michigan and Indiana both have such a rich agricultural history, and the communities that we’re able to be a part of are also a part of that rich agricultural history,” he says. “Kendallville, to us, is very similar to what we’re used to in Michigan and another parts of Indiana, where we’re able to plug into another great community and another great resource of people that enjoy food and agriculture, and are excited along with us!”
The new facility is expected to open this Spring and create 60 new jobs.
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