Meat processing company Strauss Brands plans to close its Franklin plant, relocating work to a facility in Mundelein, Illinois.
The company, a provider of grass-fed beef products, submitted a notice to state and local officials on Tuesday indicating it would lay off 70 workers at the Franklin plant starting Aug. 5. The affected employees are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1473.
Strauss Brands also laid off 127 workers last October after the company discontinued veal and lamb production at the Franklin plant. The company ultimately sold its veal and lamb business to Catelli Brothers Family of Foods, a U.S. subsidiary of Canada-based Preval AG.
At the time of the October announcement, the company said it was partnering with Texas-based Eddy Foods to expand its beef product offerings to include value-added, ready-to-eat products.
Now, the company says it is moving production of its beef product line to the Mundelein facility of Ruprecht, a division of Kilcoy Global Foods.
In a press release, Strauss described the Ruprecht processing facility as state-of-the-art and said it “continues to be upgraded with the latest advancements in technology and food safety.”
“Along with the Eddy Foods partnership, this move represents a necessary step in growing our grass-fed beef product line,” said Dave Wiggins, CEO of Strauss Brands, “The decision to relocate production to Ruprecht was made after a meticulous evaluation of various options, with a paramount focus on ensuring continued quality and seamless customer service.”
Even before the layoffs in October, Strauss’ presence in Franklin has been on a roller coaster in recent years. The company bought land for an expansion off of Loomis Road in 2019 before making plans for a facility in the Century City Business Park on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
The Milwaukee project ran into opposition from neighbors and was ultimately dropped.
By early 2020, Strauss was once again planning to expand at the Loomis Road site but ran into neighbor opposition again. Franklin officials denied approvals for the project before reversing course after business leaders expressed concern at the decision. Residents filed a lawsuit in early 2022, forcing a public hearing on the plan, at which point the company dropped its plans.
