Malt-O-Meal Co.'s Utah presence continues to grow as the country's fifth-largest cereal maker has added space in both its distribution and manufacturing sites in the state.
The Minnesota-based company is expanding its distribution facilities in Salt Lake City, has already added space to a Tremonton, Box Elder County, manufacturing plant that started producing cereal in January, and plans to add more jobs in Tremonton when a third production line becomes fully operational next spring.
"The company is growing," said spokeswoman Linda Fisher. "The Southwest, in particular, is one of their largest markets. The market continues to grow and grow."
The company already had about 150,000 square feet at Ninigret Park as one of three distribution facilities it has in the United States, but it has leased nearby space of about the same size at 1710 S. 4650 West, giving it 313,613 square feet total in Salt Lake City. The company won't add jobs there for now but may do so later.
The plant in Tremonton is cranking out cereal from two production lines, but a third line is expected to be fully operational in April. That will mean about 40 new jobs in Tremonton, which the company hopes to fill through a job fair Sept. 28-29 at the Jeanie Stevens Sports Park. The hours are noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 28 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29.
Those new jobs will be added to about 80 already in place at the plant, which itself has added 65,000 square feet this year to its existing 225,000 square feet for ingredient handling and packaging. The plant produces about 125,000 bags of Golden Puffs and Toasted Cinnamon Twists per day.
Expect the job fair to be a hit. A similar event for the original 80 jobs drew about 1,900 applicants.
The company's job growth in Utah is not unexpected. The state has committed to provide Malt-O-Meal with $2,500 in Industrial Assistance Fund money per job that pays at least 125 percent of the Box Elder County median wage, up to 250 positions, within the next five years.
During a grand opening for the Tremonton plant in January, company officials said that city may be the site of a distribution center within three years, but Fisher said it's too early to speculate when that might happen and what effects it might have on the Salt Lake distribution facility.
"Right now the plans are to remain in Salt Lake City, having leased that new space," she said. "But there is a lot of room in Tremonton for potential expansion."
The plant sits on 105 acres, with room for more buildings and up to nine manufacturing lines.
The Tremonton plant is one of three manufacturing facilities Malt-O-Meal owns, with the other two in Minnesota. It took several years to build because the company shut down construction for two years when the bagged-cereal market sagged. The company considered selling it or entering into a joint venture with another company as a way to start manufacturing there before announcing in October 2002 that it would finish the job and get operations under way.
Privately held Malt-O-Meal produces more than 20 ready-to-eat bagged cereals, three varieties of Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat cereal and a line of oatmeal products. It makes and sells both branded and private-label cereal. It acquired Quaker's bagged-cereal business in December 2002 and has converted the Quaker lines to the Malt-O-Meal brand.
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com