Rahr Corporation, a producer and distributor of malt and industry-related brewing supplies, has detailed plans to construct four new facilities in its hometown of Shakopee, Minn. as part of a massive $68 million expansion. Aided by a $610,000 investment from Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the company said it intends to build a new malt house, a pilot brewery, a maintenance warehouse, and a distribution center in its hometown.
“We’re very excited to be able to continue growing in our home base of Shakopee,” said William Rahr, the company’s president and CEO, in a press a statement. “This is the first time in our 168-year history that we have asked the state to support our expansion of jobs and production, so we appreciate the state’s recognition of the economic benefits that Rahr’s expansion will bring to Minnesota.”
The tax increment financing came from DEED’s Job Creation Fund. Established in 2013, the program provides businesses with funding after meeting certain requirements: each must create at least 10 full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 to be eligible for financial assistance. Rahr said it would be able to bring on 28 new employees.
Rahr is in the process of building a 115,00 sq. ft. malt house that will ultimately afford the company an additional 70,000 metric tons of malting capacity. When complete, Rahr will have 460,000 metric tons of capacity, it said, or enough to brew 6 billion bottles of “the average craft beer.” Rahr claims that the expansion would make it the largest single-site malting facility in the world.
Rahr also plans to build a 20,000 sq. ft. pilot brewery and technical center to test and gain a more thorough understanding of its products as a way to better inform its brewer clientele. The company told Brewbound there are currently no plans to utilize the space as a contract resource for breweries looking to outsource production.
For Brewers Supply Group, a Rahr subsidiary and prominent purveyor of beer ingredients, the company plans to construct an 80,000 sq. ft. warehouse and distribution center, which will serve its customers nationwide.
Lastly, Rahr said it plans to build a 15,000 sq. ft. maintenance warehouse for the storage of equipment.
The company said it anticipates being fully operational in the new spaces by spring of 2017.
Editor’s Note: In a separate announcement, GrainCorp Limited, an Australian-based agribusiness and malt supplier, also said it will double capacity at its Great Western Malting subsidiary in Pocatello, Idaho. Citing demand in the craft beer segment, GrainCorp said it plans to invest $75 million in the expansion project, which is slated to begin in the third quarter.