Chelsea Milling Co invests $5M in plant, R&D expansion

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

The marquee business Chelsea is known for is growing. Chelsea Milling Co. is investing $5 million to expand its facilities.

The 105-year-old firm, known for making Jiffy Mix, employs 310 people in downtown Chelsea and another 14 in Marshall. It added 10 people last year and hopes to continue hiring in 2010.

It's expanding its presence in Chelsea to accommodate this growth. It's building a pilot plant that will connect its corporate offices and main production facility. It is also upgrading its research and development facility.

"We wanted to get a good feel for how our products would play in the real world," says Jack Kennedy, vice president and general manager for Chelsea Milling Co. "We wanted that intermediate step."

Currently new Jiffy Mix products go straight from the R&D oven to full production. Adding the pilot plant allows the company to do some smaller test runs on the products before investing large amounts of cash into a costly full production.

Right now the expansion is about 70 percent complete. Kennedy expects his employees to occupy the new addition by the end of May.

Source: Jack Kennedy, vice president and general manager for Chelsea Milling Co.
Writer: Jon Zemke