Sheboygan County-based Johnsonville announced Jan. 6 it will shutter its Meadowside facility in Sheboygan County later this year following its acquisition of Salm Partners in Demark, Wisconsin.
As part of the acquisition, Johnsonville has acquired two production plants in Denmark. The company said Wednesday that all 390 of the workers at its Meadowside plant will have jobs through the end of June. Salm Partners is the largest manufacturer of fully-cooked sausage and hot dogs in the United States.
“Johnsonville anticipates some workforce adjustments as the organization transitions a portion of its ready-to-eat sausage production to Salm throughout 2024,” according to the statement from the company. “Johnsonville plans to close its Meadowside plant in its Sheboygan County network by the end of this year. Its Countryside and Riverside manufacturing facilities remain fully operational.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Salm Partners has been a co-packer for Johnsonville for several years, according to a press release.
“While this acquisition is key to the long-term success of our [ready-to-eat] sausage business — and the larger fully cooked sausage category in general — it’s not lost on us how a plant closing is distressing for our members to hear. We value their contributions and expertise, and we are working diligently to retain as many of our valued members as we can in other roles here in Sheboygan Falls and across our manufacturing network,” Fussner said.
The company is offering bonuses to employees who remain through the end of June.
Following the acquisition, Salm Partners will remain its own entity. The company was previously owned by Chicago-based Entrepreneurial Equity Partners which purchased a stake in the business in 2020. Salm Partners was founded in 2004 by four brothers and expanded to a second plant in 2019. It has benefited from tax credits provided by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
