Schwan’s purchases Sioux Falls land for new food production facility • South Dakota Searchlight

Three years after it was first announced, Schwan’s Co. is taking the next step in its investment in South Dakota after closing on 142 acres of land in northwest Sioux Falls.

The company plans to construct a 700,000-square-foot Asian food production facility at Foundation Park, including a wastewater treatment facility on the manufacturing site. The wastewater treatment facility will allow the company to discharge water to the city “with the least amount of impact on the city’s operations,” according to a news release.

The company, based in Minnesota and a subsidiary of South Korea-based CJ foods, originally announced its plans in 2021. The project at that time would have cost about $500 million and created 600 jobs in South Dakota’s largest city. Gov. Kristi Noem called it “the largest project in the history of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development” at the time. A similar description has since been applied to a potential $1 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility in Lake Preston.

The newest Schwan’s announcement does not have an official estimate for the cost of the facility, though it’ll still employ 600 people.

Noem welcomed the news Friday in a press release, saying, “South Dakota just keeps growing. Our ‘Open for Business’ mindset is transforming our state into an economic powerhouse.”

South Dakota’s unemployment rate in April 2024 stood at 2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. South Dakota tied with North Dakota for the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at the time.

The new manufacturing facility will produce Asian-style foods, primarily for the Schwan’s bibigo brand, using automated production lines. The campus will also include a warehouse and distribution center, shipping and receiving docks, and office space.

The company also plans to open a regional office in downtown Sioux Falls “to support its continued expansion and operations at the new manufacturing facility,” according to a news release from the company.  That office will employ another 50 people initially with potential to grow to 100 employees.

Schwan’s outgoing CEO Dimitrios P. Smyrnios said state and local officials helped the company “make great progress” on the project, which will increase production capacity for Schwan’s. The company’s bibigo brand is sold nationwide, including at Costco stores. The facility will join Asian food facilities for CJ Foods on the East and West coasts.

“I want to personally thank Governor Kristi Noem and her team for their leadership and commitment to our plans,” Smyrnios said in the news release. “Without her unwavering support, this project would not be possible. It’s clear to me that the ‘State of South Dakota is open for business.’”

State officials did not immediately respond to South Dakota Searchlight messages seeking information on any assistance offered to Schwan’s. The company directed questions about that topic to state officials.

Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, told Searchlight the organization does not disclose incentives given to potential business partners unless the company does.