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Wrigley Adds Skittles Line, Jobs To Factory In Illinois

Last updated on June 15th, 2016 at 10:56 am

On June 14, Wrigley’s Mars Inc. subsidiary opened a state-of-the-art addition to its Yorkville, Illinois, factory.

The Yorkville expansion is the result of a $50 million investment by Mars that adds 145,000 s.f., a new Skittles line and 75 new jobs—a 25 percent increase in the workforce at the facility.

“Mars has a long-standing history of making our products in the markets where they’re sold,” said Wrigley Americas President Casey Keller. “With the expansion of our Skittles production footprint, we are proud to continue that tradition right here in the state that Wrigley has called home for 125 years.”

The Yorkville expansion comes as a result of the growth of the Skittles brand, according to Wrigley, who says the rainbow-colored candy is now the No. 1 non-chocolate confection brand in the U.S.

In addition to Skittles, Wrigley’s Yorkville factory produces Life Savers, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit.

“We are grateful for the support of our state and local communities, which have been instrumental in helping to bring this project to life,” Keller noted. “We’re fortunate to be able to further invest here in Yorkville, and provide the community with continued economic development.”

“Wrigley is an iconic Illinois company, and we are proud it is continuing to grow in our state,” Illinois’ Gov. Bruce Rauner said. “Wrigley has invested nearly $200 million in Illinois over the past seven years, creating hundreds of jobs for Illinois residents. The state of Illinois is glad to be a partner in Wrigley’s further expansion.”

In the past five years, Mars has invested $1 billion in U.S. factories and operations, creating more than 1,000 jobs. Recent investments in the U.S. include the opening of a new Mars Chocolate factory in Topeka, Kansas; the expansion of a Mars Chocolate factory in Albany, Georgia; the opening of a new Mars Petcare Innovation Center in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee; and the construction of a new Mars Drinks campus in Westchester, New York, among many other upcoming projects.

In the next two years, the company will invest an additional $900 million in expansion of operations and Associate training and development.

In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington, kitchen and established Mars as a confectionery company. Today, in addition to candy, the company offers petcare products (Pedigree, Royal Canin, Whiskas, Banfield Pet Hospital, Cesar, Sheba, Dreamies and Nutro); food products like Uncle Ben’s, Dolmio, Ebly, Masterfoods, Seeds of Change and Royco; beverages such as Alterra Coffee Roasters, The Bright Tea Company, Klix and Flavia; and symboscience products Cocoavia and Wisdom Panel.

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