By SUSAN BLOWER Indiana Correspondent WOLCOTT, Ind. — EggLife LLC, a food production startup, has started construction on a new processing facility in Wolcott, Ind. EggLife recently bought a 60,000-square-foot specs building for $3.9 million in Mid-America Commerce Park, located in White County. EggLife, which promises 30 jobs, is the first business to come to the 600-acre commerce park, located east of I-65. Ben Bohall, director of operations for EggLife, said that the target date for production is December of this year or January 2019. Bohall told Farm World that the company will invest $10 million in the project, including $4.5 million in buying and remodeling the building. “It is a central location between Chicago, Indianapolis and Columbus and a half hour from our major supplier of raw ingredients for the egg,” Bohall said. EggLife is a trademark of Rose Acre Farms, which has a chicken farm 16 miles away in Monon, Ind. The company’s first product is gluten-free, low-carb and egg-based: the EggLife Sandwich Tortilla Wrap. Bohall said two more food products will be launched this summer, though he declined to say more because they are currently in the patent process. The sandwich wrap was a Nexty Award finalist at the Natural Products Expo West Convention 2018, located in Anaheim, Cal. The wrap contains no flour and is made primarily of egg. It will be marketed to health-conscious consumers. “It is a gluten-free sandwich wrap in a tortilla style that is only 25 calories with 4 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of carbohydrates. Most traditional low-carb wraps are 4-5 carbs,” Bohall said. Bohall noted that chicken feed is about 75 percent corn, with soybean meal, which will feed the local economy in other ways. White County leaders are pleased that EggLife is an ag-related business that will bring jobs. Their marketing plan calls for ag-based businesses, among others. “We are excited with the announcement of EggLife LLC becoming the first business to locate in our Mid-America Commerce Park,” said Randy Mitchell, president of White County Economic Development Corp. “EggLife will facilitate economic development in the rural part of our county. “Agriculture is one-third of the county’s gross domestic product. We are the number-one county in popcorn production, top 10 in soybeans in Indiana. Ag is a big part of what we do,” Mitchell explained. Other businesses are interested in the park because of its prime location, Mitchell said. “We wanted to be selective because it is a good location, and we wanted the right company. We didn’t want a warehouse. We wanted to bring jobs and add to the community,” Mitchell said. The specs building was built ahead of time as a shell with no internal walls or flooring to get a future business up and running more quickly. “Normally a facility can take 11 months to build, and this process cuts that construction time in half (for the purchaser),” Mitchell said. EggLife will develop half of the building for production and the other half for offices and warehouse space. With EggLife’s quick timetable, it has already begun hiring for a small pilot plant it has in Remington, Bohall said. The estimated 30 jobs will be in manufacturing, warehousing and administration. For more information, go online to egglifellc.com or email egglife@egglifellc.com |
