Keebler to Expand Pullman Cone Factory

CHICAGO-An $18.3-million project will more than triple the size of the Keebler Co.’s ice cream cone production facility on the city’s South Side. With the potential to add another 75 jobs to the factory’s work force of 321, the city chipped in with a tax increment financing of about $2 million to keep the city from moving its 400 jobs to the suburbs or across the state line.

The division of Kellogg Co. now operates a 78,000-sf cone factory at 10839 S. Langley Ave. in the Pullman neighborhood. The company plans to buy a 75,000-sf warehouse at 110th Street and Langley, then add 114,000 sf to link the two buildings.”Combining these two plants to create a larger, more efficient, more capable plant is a significant step forward in our growth plans,” says Kellogg Co. Chairman and CEO Carlos M. Gutierrez.

In addition to the city’s TIF package, Keebler also will seek a Cook County class 6(b) property tax incentive and enterprise zone sales tax abatements that could be worth $1.1 million. The money became available after the company called the city’s department of planning and development’s Business Express program.

“I’m thrilled that Keebler will stay in the Pullman Industrial Corridor, in my ward, where it can find an enthusiastic local workforce, great access to transportation and strong support for industry,” says 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale.