Food Processing
Wisconsin has the 2nd most organic farms in the United States, behind only California. Our business climate, diversity of Wisconsin crops, availability of water, and location in the heartland of the nation makes us ideal for organic food processing facilities. We have two major local, competing refrigerated storage companies. In addition, our local college, Lakeshore Technical College (LTC), offers courses in food safety and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), OSHA, Kosher and Halal certifications, high-speed packaging, and a world-class culinary arts school. Click here for a full overview of assets to support the food processors in Sheboygan County.
To bolster our strength we also have companies that make packaging machines and print packaging and labels. There area also firms that specialize in relocating food industry managers and executives. In many respects our infrastructure was built by the food processing industry.
TARGETED COMPANIES
- Food Processing & Packaging
- Agriculture Equipment Manufacturing
- Organic & Produce Farms
- Leather & Related Products Manufacturing
- Vineyards, Wineries & Breweries
- Fish Farms
- Dairy Associated Industries
- Specialty Cheese, Meats & Foods
- Companies that supply Cheese Manufacturers
OUR LOCATION
Sheboygan County is located near many areas of high produce and dairy production. To our south is Chicago with its commodity markets and distribution centers. Check out the map below to see why Sheboygan County is perfectly situated for food processing and agribusiness.
LOCATION QUOTENT (LQ)
The local food manufacturing sector has a LQ of 3.72. This means that there is 3.7x more food manufacturing firms in Sheboygan County than the national average.
MAJOR EXISTING COMPANIES
Industry leaders in cheese/dairy processing and meat processing call Sheboygan County home.
| Sargento Foods Inc. | Cheese manufacturing |
| Johnsonville Sausage | Meat processing |
| Dairy Farmers of America Inc. | Cheese manufacturing |
| Great Lakes Cheese of Wisconsin Inc. | Dairy-product merchant wholesalers |
| Masters Gallery Foods Inc. | Dairy-product merchant wholesalers |
| Carl Buddig & Co. (Old Wisconsin Sausage) | Meat markets |
| Saputo Cheese USA Inc. | Cheese manufacturing |
| Sartori Foods, Inc. | Cheese manufacturing |
*all companies listed were in the top 100 employers in the county in 2009
WAGES FOR FOOD PROCESSING:
|
MSA |
Food Processing |
|
Fond du Lac |
$ - |
|
National |
$40,959 |
|
Milwaukee |
$41,657 |
|
Wisconsin |
$41,974 |
|
Madison |
$44,864 |
|
Green Bay |
$45,047 |
|
Chicago |
$45,071 |
|
Janesville |
$46,792 |
|
Sheboygan |
$51,286 |
|
Oshkosh |
$56,306 |
Data From 2008 Harvard Business School, Cluster Mapping Project
WORKFORCE EMPLOYED IN INDUSTRY
5% of the County’s workforce is employed directly in food processing.
WORKMAN'S COMPENSATION RATES
RATES REPRESENT ACTUAL COST PER $100 OF PAYROLL
|
CODE |
DESCRIPTION |
WI |
MI |
MN |
IL |
IA |
|
2111 |
Canneries |
$4.19 |
$3.90 |
$6.35 |
$6.12 |
$4.69 |
|
3507 |
Agricultural Machinery Mfg. |
5.70 |
5.23 |
5.65 |
12.36 |
6.94 |
RANDOM FACTS
Wisconsin is a leader in organic farming; only California has more farms.
Wisconsin has 8 percent of the nation’s certified and exempt organic farms and has the second most organic farms by state in the nation. 1200 farms do over $280,000,000 in annual sales. Read More...
Johnsonville Sausage is the largest sausage producer in the United States by sales.
Sargento Foods is the largest retail cheese processor in Wisconsin.
The City of Plymouth was the center of the cheese industry and home to the Cheese Exchange until 1955. Until that point, national cheese prices were set in Plymouth. The Cheese Exchange moved to Green Bay, WI and eventually to Chicago, IL.
