Jana Wiersema | The Republic City and county planners discuss Kings Hawaiian’s permit request for its proposed Edinburgh facility.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — The parent company of Kings Hawaiian has more than doubled the number of new jobs it plans to bring to Bartholomew County over the next four years.
That’s what Kristen Gecker, director of projects and marketing for the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, told Bartholomew County commissioners Monday morning.
Irresistible Foods Group, which owns the King’s Hawaiian brand, announced plans to invest $150 million in a food-production facility in December, and company executives projected at the time that the facility would create 147 new jobs by 2027 with average hourly wages of $29.94.
On Monday, Gecker announced the company would invest an additional $40 million in an expansion of its original building plans, and $14 million in new equipment to create an additional 150 jobs.
The company estimated last year that its initial jobs would pay an average hourly wage of $29.94. On Monday, Gecker told the committee that the jobs created by the expansion would pay an average hourly wage of $25.27.
The facility will be built east of Indiana Premium Outlets near County Road 200W.
