Food-service products distributor Ben E. Keith Co. will spend $60 million building an expanded North Little Rock facility and add 74 jobs, the company said Tuesday.
The 300,000-square-foot plant will serve as the company's Mid-South Regional Headquarters, the company said in a statement.
The distributor, which currently employs 260 people, will add 74 jobs and pay an average hourly wage of $33.75.
A $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration made the expansion possible, the company said in a statement.
Matt Erskine, the deputy assistant secretary of commerce for the Economic Development Administration, said the grant is a co-investment for North Little Rock.
"The EDA investment is being matched by a $650,000 investment from North Little Rock, representing that this is a solid buy in the community. According to the city, this investment will help generate or retain 350 jobs and generate more than $60 million in private investment," Erskine said.
Executives made the announcement Tuesday morning at the state Capitol with Gov. Mike Beebe and Erskine on hand.
"Not only are we adding good jobs, but we're retaining good jobs," Beebe said.
The company has a facility at the Port of Little Rock that will be consolidated into the expansion, according to the statement.
Ben E. Keith's presence in Arkansas dates back to 1973, when the company bought the Dillaha Fruit Co., founded by Theo Dillaha Sr.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.