The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has awarded $610,000 in Job Creation Fund resources to Rahr Malting Corp., which will help the Minnesota company to begin its $68 million expansion and addition of 28 full-time employees.
Rahr Corp.’s expansion plans include the construction of a malt house, pilot brewery and technical center, maintenance warehouse, and distribution center. New parking, green space, ponding, and other site improvements are also part of the plan. The Job Creation Fund resources will go directly toward the cost of the pilot brewery and technical center, maintenance warehouse, and distribution center. This funding is contingent on Rahr meeting its hiring and investment goals.
“We’re very excited to be able to continue growing in our home base of Shakopee,” William Rahr, president and chief executive officer of Rahr Corp., said for a press release. “This is the first time in our 168-year history that we have asked the state to support our expansion of jobs and production, so we appreciate the state’s recognition of the economic benefits that Rahr’s expansion will bring to Minnesota.”
The expansion includes:
– The addition of a new 115,000-square-foot malt house will add 70,000 metric tons of annual malting capacity, for a total of 460,000 metric tons. This amount is enough to brew 6 billion bottles of the average craft beer or 12 billion 12-ounce cans of the average light beer. Upon project completion, the company’s headquarters in Shakopee will be the largest single-site malting facility in the world.
– The 20,000-square-foot pilot brewery and technical center will further Rahr’s position as an industry leader in brewing ingredients and improve the company’s understanding of how its products perform in a realistic brewery environment. The first floor will house a pilot brewing and micro-malting center, and the second floor will house an expanded malt quality control lab.
– The 15,000-square-foot maintenance warehouse will allow for storage of the parts and equipment needed to maintain the malting facility.
– The 80,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility for Brewers Supply Group (a wholly owned subsidiary of Rahr Corporation that supplies premium ingredients to brewers, winemakers and distillers) will primarily be used for warehousing and order fulfillment. About 6,000 square feet will be used for the bagging of malt, ranging from bulk loads down to smaller sizes for craft brewers. The facility will serve Rahr’s brewery customers across the United States, including many of Minnesota’s new craft brewers.