“The Jefferson site will allow us to expand and increase capacity again,” said Palermo Villa Inc. CEO Giacomo Fallucca regarding the frozen pizza manufacturers purchase of a former Tyson Foods plant.
“Jefferson is a great site as it allows us to expand our Wisconsin roots and continue to provide great career opportunities in our home state,” Fallucca continued.
Tyson closed its Jefferson, Wisconsin, plant, which employed 62 people, September 2021 stating that “the closure is due to a combination of factors including the changing product needs of our customers. This was a very tough decision, but because business needs have changed, we’ve decided to take these steps in order to continue focusing on and investing in strategic growth priorities where we have a competitive advantage.”
After the facility is outfitted appropriately, which includes at least two more pizza topping lines, Palmero’s intends to add 200 jobs in areas like management, production and sanitation and will produce more than 50 million pizzas a year.
“Over the past three years, we’ve added over 400 jobs through expansions at our headquarters in Milwaukee,” said Falluca. “In 2020, we installed a rising crust bakery line and a fourth topping production line that allowed us to hire more employees and increase capacity.”
The Jefferson expansion is expected to be done by summer of this year.
“The jobs created by this expansion will support local workers and their families,” said Deb Reinbold, president of Thrive Economic Development – a Jefferson-based economic organization. “Our team is grateful to assist with this project and congratulates Palermo’s on its success.”
