Food company to add 300 jobs to new Far West Side facility

SK Food Group, which makes sandwiches and other products, plans to open a second Columbus plant that will create 305 jobs. The Seattle-based company plans to lease a 144,000-square-foot building on Charter Street on the Far West Side for the operation. The facility will be in addition to SK's existing manufacturing plant on Toy Road in Groveport, which opened in 2013 with 250 workers and now employs 600. SK makes sandwiches, burgers, wraps, flatbreads and other products for a variety of users including airlines, convenience stores and cafés. It also manufacturers private-label products sold under SK, Buddy's Kitchen, as well as branded products under Raybern's, HQ Fine Foods and Deli Chef. "SK Food Group has grown significantly since our original Ohio plant opened in Groveport, so we are excited to continue that trajectory here," SK Food Group CEO Steve Booker said in a news release. "The region has provided phenomenal access to our customers in the Midwest, and we have been able to access a great pool of talent here in Columbus." SK plans to invest $18 million on machinery and cold storage equipment at the Charter Street facility, which it hopes to open by September. The company said it will immediately start the hiring process for food assembly, engineering and maintenance workers for the new operation. Annual payroll at the facility would be $12.4 million, or about $41,000 per job, according to an application for a city of Columbus tax break. Manufacturing positions would pay about $18 an hour, according to the firm. The tax break, approved at Monday's council meeting with several others, would save the company between $464,600 and $542,030 for each of the next five years, depending on how many workers are hired. ©2021 www.dispatch.com. Visit dispatch.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.