Sage V Foods recently announced that it will be relocating its IQF (individually quick frozen) rice plant from Texas to Little Rock, Ark. The plant in Texas has been sold out for several years now, without room to expand.

The company will construct a new 100,000 square foot plant in the industrial park within the Port of Little Rock at an estimated cost of $20 million. The new plant will more than double the current production capacity and will have ample room for expansion. The Little Rock plant will start with 60 to 100 employees and is expected to grow to about 200 employees within two to three years.

Sage V Foods is a privately owned company that is based out of Los Angeles, Calif. The company specializes in manufacturing rice-based ingredients for the food industry.

The company previously built a new rice flour mill in Stuttgart, Ark., in 2005 which has become very successful. The new plant in Little Rock will produce IQF rice for the industrial and restaurant chain markets, and will produce IQF organic rice under Sage’s retail brand “Rice Expressions”.

Little Rock was selected as the location of the new plant because of incentives offered by local and state agencies, its proximity to the rice growing area, its logistic location in the center of the country on Interstate 40, rail access in the port, and access to waste treatment facilities that can handle cook water. The company feels that in Little Rock it will be able to find skilled employees and that the city will be an attractive location for existing and new management personnel.

The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, AEDC, ADFA and the Port of Little Rock worked together in offering bond guarantees and assisting in infrastructure to make the project possible.

The company plans to break ground in October of 2007 and be up and running before December 2008.

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