Editorial: Anita's goes the extra mile to save jobs

It is to Kingsport's good fortune that a private California company that failed in an East Coast expansion headquartered at Kingsport has taken the initiative to lease its facility, which will result in a $16.5 million investment and jobs saved.Anita's Snack Foods, headquartered in San Bernardino, makes a variety of snacks and is also a primary contract manufacturer of popped/extruded pellet snacks. Snack pellets are foodstuffs made as a foundation for other companies to use in creating their own innovative snack products. Ingredients are mixed and shaped through an extrusion process into multiple colors, forms, flavors, textures and tastes.In 2018, Anita's took over the former Pure Foods building at Gateway Commerce Park at Kingsport's Tri-Cities Crossing, and the next year broke ground on a $2 million expansion, while growing employment. But despite that its East Coast plans have not met expectations, Anita's didn't just pack up and leave.It went looking for a business partner and found Palmex, the largest snack pellet manufacturer in the U.S. and Central and South America."Anita's West Coast business is doing well, but its East Coast business did not do as well as expected," Clay Walker, CEO of NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership, said. "Those things happen, so Anita's approached NETWORKS and told us they had found another company to go into the facility."The Kingsport Economic Development Board approved the lease agreement, and the investment will include the addition of three pellet frying lines this year, in 2025 and 2028. Palmex also plans to invest in a $1.7 million frying line this year.The lease runs through June 30, 2030, with an option for two, five-year extensions. The agreement also comes with annual employment figure stipulations that Palmex must meet at least 85% of each year.The employment stipulations per year are: 2023, 24 employees; 2024, 38; 2025, 72; 2026, 87; and 2027, 103 employees. Failure to meet or exceed the employee goals will result in Palmex paying additional rent in an amount equal to the prorated portion of the normal city and county real property tax for that year, officials said.Walker praised Anita's willingness to go out and find a willing partner to keep jobs within the community."Honestly, most companies don't do that," he said. "So we're pleased Anita's took the initiative and made that extra step for the community."Craig Denison, chairman of the Kingsport Economic Development Board, agrees."This is an exciting transition as Anita's and Palmex have formed a partnership to continue to expand the production of finished snack foods," he said. "This also goes hand in hand with the mission of the Kingsport Economic Development Board to grow the job and tax base within the city of Kingsport and Sullivan County."Last year, Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, acquired Palmex as a platform to build a North American business-to-business salty snack manufacturer in the better-for-you and Hispanic segments. The snack industry is undergoing a transformation driven by the rise of health consciousness and consumer demand for better-for-you snacks that offer taste and nutritional value.We are delighted to join in welcoming Palmex to Northeast Tennessee, and in thanking Anita's Snack Foods for its professional conduct.