The job growth also would likely vault the company to the No. 9 spot on the list of Butler County’s top 10 employers.
Koch Foods, which serves all 50 states as well as countries worldwide, opened its Fairfield plant in October 1999 with two production lines and 50 employees, company officials told this news outlet. By 2015 it was up to 600 employees. It now has seven lines with state-of-the-art equipment and 1,050 employees.
The company’s products include chicken of all kinds, including tenderloins, tenders, strips, boneless wings, chunks, popcorn, nuggets, patties, fries, bone-in chicken, fillets, wings, deli, gourmet and diced.
Koch Foods’ workforce expansion comes from growing sales massively internally and acquiring companies that grew sales, according to Brian Reisen, general manager of the company’s Fairfield facility.
Fairfield has been “a huge and supportive partner in every way — infrastructure, tax incentives, waste water, employee recruiting, etc.,” Reisen said.
Koch Foods has been “a good employer” for the city of Fairfield for nearly 20 years, increasing investment and employment on a yearly basis, according to Fairfield Economic Development Director Alexander Kraemer.
“The city is proud that its partnership with Koch Foods has stimulated aggressive growth,” Kraemer told this news outlet. “Since 2012, Koch Foods has invested more than $50 million in building expansion and new equipment including the addition of several production lines, which has resulted in strong employment growth, now approaching 1,200 total employees.
The company’s large amount of jobs positively impacts the local economy by supplying over a thousand people to frequent Fairfield restaurants, grocery stores, local service shops, stores and more, Kraemer said.
“The job growth in companies like Koch Foods is vital for the continual growth of the overall Fairfield economy,” he said.
Koch Foods has “ambitious growth plans” to increase in the next five year from a $3.4 billion company to a $5 billion-plus company, Reisen said.
Top 10 Fairfield employers*
- Cincinnati Financial Corporation (3,200 employees)
- Mercy Health- Fairfield Hospital (1,400 employees)
- Liberty Mutual (1,250 employees)
- Koch Foods (1,050 employees)
- Fairfield City School District (900 employees)
- Pacific Manufacturing (700 employees)
- Veritiv Corporation (675 employees)
- Express Scripts (500 employees)
- Takumi Stamping (500 employees)
- Martin Brower (450 employees)
* — as of March 2018
Source: City of Fairfield
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