Safe Foods opens state-of-the-art North Little Rock facility
by October 24, 2019 7:06 pm 3,840 views
Safe Foods opens its new North Little Rock headquarters.
It’s been a long road for Safe Foods Corporation.
Borne out of research conducted at UAMS twenty years ago, the privately-owned startup biotech company has turned a big corner and sits in a prime position to continue to grow in the field of food safety.
Safe Foods Corporation unveiled a new, state of the art, 120,000 sq. ft. facility in North Little Rock on Thursday (Oct. 24). After nearly a year of extensive renovations, the new processing plant includes a $15 million investment and 35 additional jobs for central Arkansas.
Earlier this year, Safe Foods reported that it had 110 people working between locations in another part of North Little Rock and Rogers, Arkansas.
The new North Little Rock property, located on 22 acres at 1508 E. 8th Street, was purchased in November 2018.
Safe Foods partners with food processors to deliver solutions and products which reduce pathogens that cause food-borne illnesses. Safe Foods currently has clients in 10 countries and protects over 250 million servings of food per day.
“For the first time in Safe Foods’ 20-year history, all of our teams are together under one roof,” said Safe Foods CEO Chris Coleman. “This has provided us with unique collaboration opportunities and this facility enables certain efficiencies and integrations that are unprecedented in our industry.”
The new centralized location provides convenient access to rail and interstate highways. Lewis Architects and Engineers provided overall design services, ECCI served as the project’s engineering firm, and Nabholz was enlisted as the general contractor.
“I’m grateful for the investment that Safe Foods has made as one of the first companies to take advantage of this area’s new Opportunity Zone designation,” North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith said. “This project has supported work for over 400 contractors during the construction and remodeling phase. Safe Foods is just one of many companies moving into the North Little Rock area as a part of the city’s larger economic development and revitalization efforts, and I know that they will continue to be strong ambassadors for our city and state as they protect food around the world.”