Rich Products, the manufacturer of the SeaPak and Morey’s seafood brands, is projecting it will complete its Brownsville, Texas, U.S.A. facility expansion in July.
Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.-based Rich is doubling the size of its Brownsville, Texas, U.S.A.-based manufacturing and warehouse facility to meet surging demand for seafood and appetizers. It is investing more than USD 117 million (EUR 87 million) in the expansion to add more than 150,000 square feet to the facility, with the help of the U.S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit program.
“We’ve seen a huge influx in customer demand within our growing seafood and appetizer business, so adding capacity is key for continued growth,” Rich’s U.S./Canada President Kevin Spratt said in a press release last year.
National New Markets Fund LLC provided USD 17.5 million (EUR 15 million) in NMTC allocation, while DV Community Investment LLC contributed USD 8 million (EUR 7 million) via NMTC for the expansion, according to a press release.
The first phase of Rich’s largest capital campaign, which began in 2023, included a new frozen warehouse that opened last summer. The second phase, which adds production and storage space, will be wrapped up in July.
The full expansion project is expected to create more than 130 full-time jobs, Rich Products said.
“As a proud member of the Brownsville community for over 60 years, we’re fully committed to strengthening our local impact with the right combination of associates, products and infrastructure,” Spratt said. "We’re grateful to NNMF for being a key supporting player in this project and are excited about the opportunities this will create for our business, the local community and the valued customers we serve every day.”
The NMTC program, administered by the U.S. Treasury Department, provides investment capital for projects benefiting low-income communities, according to Rich. In addition to creating job opportunties, Rich is offering “quality wages and benefits” in a community that is grappling with a 35.7 percent poverty rate, National New Markets Fund CEO Deborah La Franchi said.
