Greencore Group, an Ireland-based maker of convenience foods, is preparing for a $300,000 tenant build-out at the North Jacksonville facility it bought in June.
The Jacksonville site, at 13949 Alvarez Road in the Jacksonville International Tradeport, produces fresh sandwiches and sushi as well as fresh entrees and other ready-to-eat items sold through retail and convenience store chains, according to the Greencore.com site.
Greencore acquired the operation when it bought H.C. Schau & Son Inc., the Chicago-based maker and distributor of fresh foods whose two facilities are in Woodridge, Ill., and Jacksonville.
According to the website, the primary offerings at the Jacksonville facility include fresh sandwiches and salads and other deli items; fresh ready meal solutions; fully cooked, extended shelf life Okami brand sushi; and wholesale meat distribution of Nueske's meats.
The permit applications shows contractor Richard C. Haskew will add three work areas within the 41,000-square-foot space at a project cost of $300,000.
Plans show functions that include a fish cooler, rice storage, rice cooking, packaging and production, a holding cooler and a holding freezer as well as a locker room, lounge, offices and other space.
Plans indicate future functions could include the cooking, chilling, packing and shipping of chicken.
Greencore said Schau's 2011 revenue was $32 million. It said terms of the purchase called for paying $13 million in cash plus a deferred cash consideration of $4.3 million and an additional $2 million payable upon certain performance conditions.
Greencore Group, based in Dublin, describes itself as a leading manufacturer of convenience foods in the United Kingdom and the United States. It employs more than 11,000 people and operates 28 sites in the U.S., United Kingdom and Ireland, making 4,000 products across 20 categories. For example, it says it is a leading manufacturer of frozen Yorkshire puddings, making 530 million a year.
Greencore said it was established in 1991 and entered the U.S. market through four acquisitions, starting in 2008.
Greencore USA is described as a "fast-growing food-to-go business serving both the convenience and small store channel and the grocery channel."
This year, Greencore bought Marketfare Foods in April. It said the subsequent Schau purchase "will build on the acquisition of Marketfare Foods … by adding scale with 7-Eleven, to whom Schau is a long-term supplier in the Chicago region."
"In addition, Greencore has put in place a multiyear partnership with the new customer to supply its stores with approximately $50 million of Food to Go products on the East Coast and in the Midwest from four of Greencore's facilities," it said.
It said the new business would be phased in between September this year and March.
Greencore lists six U.S. sites: Jacksonville; Chicago; Newburyport and Brockton, Mass.; Fredericksburg, Va.; and Salt Lake City.
"Schau, along with Marketfare, will allow us to take a strong step forward in executing the next stage of our U.S. strategy," Greencore CEO Patrick Coveney said in a news release.
"Greencore now has a Food to Go platform in the U.S. that will not only enable us to better serve our existing customers, but also to support what is a significant and exciting new business opportunity," he said.
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