LITTLE CHUTE, Wis., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraft Pizza Company -- maker
of DiGiorno frozen pizza -- broke ground today for the expansion of its
manufacturing plant in Little Chute, WI, and announced that DiGiorno has been
named the Official Pizza of the Green Bay Packers. Little Chute Kraft
employees, Kraft visitors, representatives of state and local governments and
Packers officials gathered at the facility to celebrate.
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The pizza plant, located at 401 West North Avenue, will add 100,000 square
feet and a new parking lot as part of the expansion. A new pizza crust bakery
line and assembly line will be installed, enabling a significant increase in
production capacity. Construction beginning now is expected to be completed
by the end of this year, with equipment installation and production start-up
of the new lines planned for April 2009. Employment at the plant is
anticipated to increase by approximately 300 with the expansion.
As if the groundbreaking and official announcement of the expansion
weren't enough to swell hometown pride, Kraft Pizza Company and the Green Bay
Packers prompted cheers with the news that DiGiorno will be the Packers'
Official Pizza for the next three seasons, with exclusive rights to concession
pizza sales at Lambeau Field and numerous fan-pleasing consumer promotions
accompanying the sponsorship. Thrilling the crowd, Green Bay Packer Defensive
End Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (KGB) joined the festivities. And, Little Chute
Kraft employees had the chance to join a drawing to be the lucky winner of
four tickets to Family Night at Lambeau Field.
To be eligible for the in-house ticket raffle, Kraft employees were asked
to contribute food items toward a collection intended for Paul's Pantry, which
distributes food to the needy of Brown County.
'This is an exciting day that highlights Kraft Pizza Company's strong
heritage and continuing commitment in Wisconsin,' said Tim Cofer, President,
Kraft Pizza Company. 'We make almost all of our Kraft Pizza Company brands at
our plants in Little Chute and Medford. We also purchase more than 75 percent
of the cheese we use in our pizzas from Wisconsin.'
The village of Little Chute's fame as the home of popular frozen pizza
goes back to the 1960s, to privately-held Jack's Frozen Pizza, Inc.
