It took more than a year to transition from sock manufacturing to sausage production, and Johnsonville is ready to begin its expanded operations from its new Sheboygan facility on Crocker Avenue.
Johnsonville, LLC purchased the 190,000 square-foot facility from sock maker Wigwam Mills, which vacated the facility in late 2020. Johnsonville’s domestic and international sales of its fully cooked sausage product portfolio have increased significantly over the last few years, maxing out manufacturing capacity at its headquarter campus in Johnsonville. The family-owned company is provided its local members (employees) a sneak peek and tours at its new plant. The facility name (Lakeside) was determined by its local members, keeping in theme with its three other manufacturing locations in Johnsonville (Countryside, Meadowside and Riverside).
When Johnsonville begins production in mid-November 2022, it will operate on three shifts. The newest and high-tech equipment has been installed, and about 50 members will be employed at the new Sheboygan plant in production, sanitation, maintenance, and shipping and receiving positions. The company predicts it will employ an additional 100 members by 2025 to address future growth in its fully cooked sausage portfolio.
This is the first manufacturing facility in Sheboygan for Johnsonville, the nation’s number-one sausage brand. The company has been making sausage since 1945 from the town of Johnsonville, where Ralph F. and Alice Stayer opened a butcher shop along the Sheboygan River. Today, the third- and fourth generation of Stayer family members work in the company. Over the last 77 years, the company has expanded several times, making various types of fresh and fully cooked dinner, breakfast and snack sausages for consumers in more than 40 countries.
The company is hiring for both the new Lakeside facility and at its main campus in Johnsonville. Interested job seekers are encouraged to apply at https://careers.johnsonville.com.
