Johnsonville is selling one of its Sheboygan manufacturing facilities to Homewood, Illinois-based
Carl Buddig and Company for $22 million, state records show.
Carl Buddig and Company is the owner of the brands Buddig Meat, Old Wisconsin, Kingsford and Pitmaster’s Pride. Representatives from Carl Buddig and Company did not respond to a Monday inquiry.
The 200,000-square-foot facility that the company acquired from Johnsonville is located at 3402 Crocker Ave. sits on 16 acres of land. It is the former home of sock maker
Wigwam Mills.
Johnsonville
purchased the facility in 2020 for $8 million, according to state records. The company used the Crocker Avenue plant to expand its cooking innovations and produce more fully cooked sausage products, a category that has been experiencing growth in recent years.
All 50 people who worked at the Crocker Avenue plant were re-assigned and accepted roles at Johnsonville's main campus in rural Sheboygan County, the company said Monday.
At the start of the year, Johnsonville acquired Denmark, Wisconsin-based
Salm Partners, along with the company’s production facility, to further bolster its production of ready-to-eat sausage.
While the company originally planned to close its Meadowside facility at its headquarters campus following the acquisition, Johnsonville reversed course and
decided to keep that plant open, citing “current and future growth plans.”
"We had purchased the (Crocker Avenue) building for additional fully cooked sausage production but since we acquired Salm Partners earlier this year, Johnsonville no longer requires the Lakeside facility," according to a company spokesperson.
