MOMENCE — The expansion of the Momence-based Van Drunen Farms and FutureCeuticals business has now reached into Manteno.
Early this month, Van Drunen Land Holdings LLC paid $6.5 million for the 8-acre parcel and the former Manteno Cold Storage property, 1260 Sycamore Road, according to documents from the Kankakee County Recorder of Deeds office.
The 155,000-square-foot facility, which the company now is upgrading, will go into service at the start of 2020, said company part owner Kevin Van Drunen.
Once in service, the site will house about 12,000 to 15,000 pallets of farm products. Van Drunen sells ingredients to food processors and packers across the country.
FutureCeuticals develops a number of fruit-, vegetable- and grain-based powders and extracts for food ingredients, dietary supplements, cosmetics and health care products, and conducts research and development for Van Drunen Farms.
The Manteno location is not new to Van Drunen’s. The company had been leasing space there for several years.
However, when he learned there was an opportunity to take possession of it, Van Drunen said it was a move which make perfect sense.
“We’ve been storing a lot of our frozen products in various facilities in Illinois and Indiana. ... We’ve used locations in Joliet, Chicago, Hobart, Ind., and in our Crown Point (Ind.) location. This gives us room to grow,” he said.
The acquisition also will add to the company’s approximate 725-member workforce. Van Drunen said they will hire 10 to 12 additional workers to coordinate the receiving, storage and shipment of products.
Manteno mayor and Economic Alliance of Kankakee County CEO/president Tim Nugent said it is great to hear that Van Drunen’s is continuing to make major investments locally.
The area where this property is located is near the expanding Urban Farmer business as well as Dawn Foods.
Prior to the purchase by Van Drunen’s, the property had been owned since January 2015 by MJP Realty, LLC, of Downers Grove. MJP had purchased the property in 2015 for $5.1 million.
The MJP Realty company is not connected with local developer Mike Pinski, who operates MJP Development Corp., of Kankakee.