COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Groundbreaking ceremonies were held yesterday in Branch County for the $250 million Clemens Food Group pork processing facility where operations at the Coldwater plant will begin in 2017. The project was announced last December and preliminary zoning and infrastructure planning has been underway since spring for the site located off I-69 near Jonesville Road.
The theme for the groundbreaking event was Building for the Future. Jamie Clover Adams, the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, was one of the featured speakers yesterday, and said the Coldwater facility is important to the future generations of not only the Clemens Food Group company but the future generations of our farm families as well. She said it also establishes a position for Michigan to compete in the global pork market.
Doug Clemens, Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia based company, told the gathering at the groundbreaking that the Clemens Food Group gratefully looks forward to providing over 800 new jobs to the area. He concluded by saying everyone from Clemens has been welcomed in Branch County since day one and they will strive to do their best to enhance the Coldwater community for decades to come.
