August 24, 2010

Israel's Solbar buys US soy plant

Israeli company making its first production foray in US by buying former soy processing plant, Green Planet Farms, in northeast Nebraska for US$16 million.

Greg Horn, president of Oakdale, Minnesota-based Solbar US, said that the company expects to invest US$10 million more for equipment. Solbar must hire 40 workers to begin operation by October 1, Horn said. Sixty more workers could be added within a year, he said, if there's enough product demand.

The plant's being in the middle of soy country helped Solbar settle on South Sioux City, Horn said. He also commended the city's infrastructure to support the plant and easy access to rail lines and interstates 29 and 90 for distribution.

The plant is only two years old and comes with 40 acres of land that could be used for expansion, Horn said.

Green Planet Foods had started up production in fall of 2008, which proved to be bad timing as US and world markets reeled from the recession.

Green Planet officials said their focus on organic products hurt as the organic market tightened and said the company's lack of capital did not allow continued operation of the plant.

Horn said Solbar USA is anticipating US$40 million in sales this year, including products from the Nebraska plant. Parent company Solbar Industries Ltd. is expecting total worldwide sales of US$250 million in 2010.

Solbar USA has been selling soy products from the two other plants, Horn said, but the Nebraska plant will be its first in the US.