Koch Foods awarded for its $220M expansion project

Multiple expansion projects were announced in 2021 within the city of Fairfield, but Koch’s project was the largest by far.

“The project will result in an investment of more than $200 million and the creation of at least 400 new jobs in our community,” said Fairfield Development Services Director Greg Kathman. “The scale and complexity of the project make it a worthy choice for this regional recognition.”

Hamilton’s 80 Acres Farms and Saica have earned this growth award in recent years.

Koch Foods, 4100 Port Union Road, is constructing a new 400,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that will add five production lines to the poultry processing business. The construction project is on an 18-acre site adjacent to the main facility, and the total capital investment in the project will exceed $300 million, according to the company.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to the company and city.

Fairfield offered a tax break on the project for Koch Foods, which had debated on an out-of-state expansion. Last year, the city approved a 75 percent tax exemption for real property improvements over10 years. Also, as part of the economic development deal, those 400 new full-time jobs must be filled within three years of completing the building.

Koch Foods General Manager Brian Reisen told the Journal-News in September it’s more likely they’ll create 600 new jobs.

“We’ll start bringing them on at least 30 days in advance (of completion of the new building) and start training and working in the existing facility,” he said to the Journal-News in September, adding that within two years of the building’s completion, all 400 jobs promised in this first phase should be in place.

The first new jobs will be front office and sales positions, and the lion’s share of the jobs, which would be related to the production lines, Reisen said. This Koch Foods location opened in Fairfield in 1999.

According to REDI Cincinnati, combining the substantial capital investment with 400 new jobs “allows Koch to dramatically increase production capacity and bolster sales while further cementing its investment in the local community.”

After earning the honor from REDI Cincinnati, Reisen said, “The new plant will enable the corporation to support the ever-increasing demand for fully cooked protein products.”

“Koch Foods remains very grateful to the city of Fairfield for their steadfast support in many business capital expansion endeavors,” he said.